USAID has begun circulating a confidential report on Iraq that found attacks on military and civilian targets have escalated sharply in 2004 prompting fears of what it termed the “Balkanization” of the country. This according to the Financial Times. The report found that the number of high intensity attacks more than doubled from December to January from just over 300 to nearly 650. Some of the increased violence is attributed to rising ethnic tensions between Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis.