The US warns that Iraq could easily be divided into three countries.

"Iraq is divided," declared Congressman Adam Smith of the House Armed Forces Committee during a meeting on June 17. "You may disagree with that, but the reality is, Iraq is not what it used to be."

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According to Sputnik, Smith's statement is similar to that of many other US officials who are beginning to acknowledge that unifying a multi-sectoral Iraq into a single, fully-fledged government may be a pipe dream for the Pentagon.

And that, ultimately, Iraq could be divided into three separate countries.

Although the new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has pledged national unity, some believe other Iraqi officials are largely uninterested in this. The Shi'ite-majority central government is likely to be unwelcome to Sunnis joining its ranks.

And Iraq's predominantly Sunni population also distrusts the central government. Sunnis may feel they don't have a truly active role to play in protecting their communities from attacks by the ISIS terrorist group.

Senator Smith said, "How can we invite Sunnis to hold a proper position if they don't have support from Baghdad?"

For the Kurds in northern Iraq, a group that felt distinct from the rest of Iraq long before Saddam Hussein's fall, the future they envisioned could be Iraq divided into three territories, held by independent Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish groups.

In recent months, the U.S. Department of Defense has stepped up its military efforts in Iraq. Over the past 10 months, the Pentagon has deployed an additional 3,000 ground troops back to Iraq, despite President Obama's commitment to reducing involvement in foreign wars.

(Sputnik/VNN)