astonishment at the importance of religion?

at the end of the today programme this morning is a 5 mins interview where john humphreys, currently in iraq, speaks with canon andrew white, the anglican vicar of basra who is also working with the iraqi prime minister on religious reconciliation issues.
mr humphreys actually sounded astonished at one point half way through the interview when canon white referred to a genuine ignorance on behalf of the major players in the pre-emptive war about what place religion played in the life of the iraqi nation prior to the war. it seems the general thought amongst the 'allies' was that iraq was a secular country so that religion was not going to be a factor post-invasion. and the astonishing thing is that its only now, 3 years later, that the americans in particular are starting to wake up to the religious element and how powerful it is in what is happening currently inside iraq. but is it too late to do anything about it? canon white says it is very late. any engagement with efforts at reconciliation will take place outside iraq as its even too dangerous for the insurgency leaders to be inside iraq. they actually command their operations from outside the country.
you can listen to the 0854 interview here.
there are a couple of thoughts that come to mind:
1. one of the first rules of war is: know your enemy. why didn't the americans and british take more cognisance of this middle-eastern country's religious heritage so as to anticipate where religion would factor in post-war reconstruction? what's that you say, there was no post-war planning....?!
2. while there has been some move toward democratic government, the reality remains that the democratically elected leaders are completely under 'house arrest' by the insurgents, as the leaders are confined to the 'green zones' and are unable to engage with their local communities because of the levels of violence and manifest dangers. is democracy really what the psyche of the iraqi people actually resonates with? again, before you go to war, know your enemy.
3. canon white, and people like him, seem key in this next phase of negotiation between western governments and insurgent leaders. will the western leaders give sufficient credence and time to this humble, yet forthright anglican priest who has before him the ministry of reconciliation (2 cor 5:18,19) to find a way to bring together different worldviews and religious beliefs so that perhaps a third way of some hybrid form of government may emerge from the ashes of what was once the ancient seat of civilisation?
i for one, would like to hear more from the bbc on this.