Who will protect the Sunnis?

Our main battle against the Iraqi insurgency is directed towards killing off the very elements of Sunni society that can best protect the Sunnis for the long haul. It appears they are going to need to reach a standoff against the more numerous Shia who dominate the government we have created -- or againsta gang-up between the Shias in the South and the U.S.-friendly Kurds in the North. We're not talking about the so-called "al Qaeda in Iraq," but nationalist Sunni militants (do we dare call them “patriots”?) who are ready, willing and able to take up arms to protect their society. Why is nobody asking whether this is a good long-term strategy or not?