Aug 03 2007
al-Qaeda Has Lost Iraq – No Question
I predicted back in March (and maybe before) that the Iraq Province of Diyala would tell the tale of Iraq, and therefore the world at large for years to come. At that time The Surge was just beginning as troop rotations were being planned to accommodate The Surge. But also by that time the sea change had begun that would spell al-Qaeda’s demise: Anbar Province had risen up against al-Qaeda and began fighting alongside Americans and Iraqi forces to purge the bloodthirsty Islamo Fascists from the Province.
I could tell this was happening because you could see a sharp increase in the number of Iraqis dying in bombings by al-Qaeda. Clearly al-Qaeda was vainly trying to regain or retain control over the people who lived in their supposed stronghold. The mass killings of Iraqi Muslims tore the facade from al-Qaeda’s propaganda, which finally exposed these killers to the general public for what they truly were. The deaths of Iraqis in Iraq has been and is now at the hands of Muslim extremists.
So Anbar rose up and killed and chased al-Qaeda from its region, with our help. Diyala Province then became the last large sanctuary for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The Surge was orchestrated to close the noose around al-Qaeda in Diyala. But it would only really work if, as in Anbar, the local population rose up to kill and chase al-Qaeda out of their Province. And if that happened we had the making of a domino effect that would not only sweep Iraq, but would sweep across the Middle East and the Muslim world. That is why I said, as goes Diyala so goes Iraq and the world.
Diyala is now the next domino to rise up and purge itself of Islamo Fascists, to take arms and swear on the Koran to defeat al-Qaeda:
TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007 — Eighteen paramount tribal leaders representing 14 of the major tribes in Diyala province, Iraq, swore on the Quran and signed a peace agreement unifying the tribes in the battle against terrorism during a meeting at the Baqubah Government Center Aug. 2.
The meeting, led by Ra’ad Hameed Al-Mula Jowad Al-Tamimi, governor of Diyala; Staff Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem, commander of Iraqi security forces (ISF) in Diyala province; and Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of coalition forces in Diyala, was attended by sheiks representing three Shiite tribes, 11 Sunni tribes and 60 of Diyala’s 100 sub-tribes.
al-Qaeda’s bloody terror has taught the people of Iraq the true choice they must make. They have lived under al-Qaeda, provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda, and been massacred by al-Qaeda in return. No slick PR or biased reporting in the West will deflect the realities experienced by these people. Iraq is now lost to al-Qaeda. It is the home of many such Koran-oaths to destroy the once popular Islamo Fascists movement. Here is what we find in the aftermath of such oaths:
After receiving information of known al-Qaida members in the Sherween area, a village near Muqdadiyah, Iraq, Iraqi citizens assisted Iraqi Police in the detention of three key al-Qaida leaders, July 29.
“This is a very significant event for Diyala because it is clear that not only are the security forces targeting al-Qaida, but the people are tired of the hatred and destruction al-Qaida and other terrorist groups have to offer,” said Col. David Sutherland, commander of 3-1 Cav. and commander of Coalition Forces in Diyala province.
Suspecting an attack on a near-by village, Diyala tribal members informed the Dali Abbas Iraqi police, and together, set up a tactical checkpoint along the known route.
And I do expect these dominoes to continue to fall across Iraq and beyond its borders. al-Qaeda is not only on the run, it is now enemy number one on the Muslim streets and within Muslim homes. Bin Laden’s vaulted movement is self destructing. It finds more tolerance in western news rooms than in Iraqi communities.
And so if what you say is so, the political situation inside Iraq looms even larger. In my opinion they need new elections in Anbar and they need to move from a “slate” system of candidates to territorial representation like we have. As it stands now, there are no delegates that represent specific regional areas. Delegates are assigned accordign to how many votes their “slate” got across the entire country. So there are no “Anbar” delegates.
It would be as if in congressional elections, people simply vote “democrat” or “republican” and the parties divvy up the seats according to the number of votes but without anyone having “their” congressman. This assures that the Sunni regions get almost no real representation.
And just a suggestion … there is a blog that publishes quite a bit in english about the political situation inside Iraq and I would suggest that folks look at Talisman Gate every once in a while. It is a great education though it is not always objective. Have a look sometime.
AJ
Right now in my blog lists I have about 10 or 12 Iraq blogs I read to try to get a temperature of the locals themselves and what their view is on all this goings on.
Some are bloggers out of country in the US and Jordan and most are local.
It is a mixed bag of opinion and that is exactly what I look for to work all sides of the issue to come to a conclusion.
But the over riding thing I am seeing that hasn’t hit in a lot of places is that there are a large group of Iraqis who are secular who feel like they are being left out in this whole religious based split that hogs the headlines.
It really makes a good counterpoint look at how it is being viewed by those who have a lot of chips in this game.
Iraq was NEVER al-Qaeda’s to lose.
All the Administration’s recent talk about al-Qaeda and Iraq is hogwash, as is Strataspheristas’ wishful thinking that defeating whoever it is calling themselves al-Qaeda in Iraq is a big deal.
As McClatchy made clear on Tuesday . . . the real threat is from the Shia:
Bush’s military doesn’t even agree with him on this key point. Al-Qaeda – or the various related or unrelated entities that may or may not make up al-Qaeda in Iraq – are bit part players in Iraq, in spite of the fact that the factually-challenged George Walker Bush insists on spouting absolute piffle calling al Qaida in Iraq “the same people” responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, though al Qaida in Iraq didn’t form until after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has at best only hazy ties to the al Qaida of Osama bin Laden.
Delusional thinking at best.
Delusional thinking at best.
Left by Soothsayer on August 3rd, 2007
That’s a stunning statement, coming from a Hebephrenic, Anti-American, Pro-Jihadi, Leftist Nutbag Traitor like yourself, isn’t it?
Delusional thinking at best.
Left by Soothsayer on August 3rd, 2007
At least THAT part I agree with, and it’s all on you.
Dale
Durn man you stole my idea.
So easy with this useless tool.
I notice he still hasn’t countered my take down from a day ago.
At least we could get an up armored pinata.
as your friend, I would let you know if you had sauce on your chin, or whatever. So: you meant “vaunted” in that next to last sentence. Nice, informative post, btw.
I would say that at one point al Qaida had at least three provinces in Iraq. Those are now lost. By all appearances al Qaida has lost the hearts and minds of whatever population they had.
One driving force going forward for any insurgency is disenfranchisement of Sunnis and their lack of real investment in the government in Baghdad. I believe the voter turnout in Anbar province was something close to 2%. Practically nobody voted in Ramadi. Political slates that would have been popular in those regions got no votes and so Shiite and Kurdish slates got a greater proportion of votes than they would have otherwise.
National assembly elections are not scheduled until 2009. Provincial governments are not set up in the Sunni provinces and there have been no provincial elections. The Sunnis are afraid of being steamrolled by the Shiites. We must get them integrated into and invested in the government. This is going to mean some dilution of the power of the Kurds and Shiites and that won’t be without resistance from them.
Now that the military situation has stabilized and we can get some kind of economy back up and running there, the attention is going to return to politics. That is a good thing but it isn’t an easy thing.
I have to admit I am getting tired of responding to Soothie. He is such a bore.
Matters not what is going on on the ground for Hillary and John Kerry, they want congress to work on a withdraw plan, I guess they would like the President and DOD to put out a road map of how we will be leaving so that we can get a bunch of folks killed. What a stupid political stunt, I guess she is trying to look presidential, and tough. I’m wondering what the military thinks of her stunt. She is one person who sure can get my blood boiling.
Hey ….news out of Afghanistan that we struck a meeting of Taliban leaders and Dadullah Mansoor was the target….hehehe.He attended a public hanging of two poor locals the Talibaunnies claim were US SPIES…..we whacked him damn good..
Terrye
I just caught Sooth over at MKH’s site at Townhall with this to say.
Read the second comment.
A useless tool that probably cuts and pastes with one hand.
Per Southiesou the Banshee they’re not Al-qayda unless Osama has a bong hit with them and they all pose for a picture while doing their turbans up in left twist Astan gangsta style while posing with a myriad of weapons they can barely fire with out blowing off a toe or two. Every Al-qayda we kill he will proclaim it’s not one but a wanna be, see they don’t have the official Al-qayda secret decoder ring, or the glow in the dark tattoo that say’s “Official Al-Qayda martyr seeker”. He was probably the guy who was saying the well fed North Koreans sneaking across the DMZ weren’t spies, or Hanoi Jane was a hero to the people. He’s a ghoul and that’s all he’ll ever be.
How did Sooth know Billy O’s site was vile and hateful if he never went there.
Guess he got the email from STB’s (which is very close to STD) to warn him off.
Merlin:
Well it must be, after all most of them are warmongers and chickenhawks and God knows what else.
Yes, soothie lives in a simple world. He is good, the rest of us suck.
The things that make you go hmmmm/
It continues to amaze (amuse) me that a classic troll can continue to cause defense(of one’s position) to be the issue. Ignore the (your choice) the carp(crap) ….. It’s a very strong statment. And besides there is no smell………….
CP
The Jawa Report put that two and two together earlier today
Dorf
That fool posts when you ignore him or slay him.
So since he seems to want to stay we can only shoot that fish in a barrel so the other thousands who read AJ’s each day have no doubt of what a fool he is.
Whatever this means – and only Pelosi will define it…
Dems Now Demand “Monumental†Iraq Progress
Yeah, right! They continue to find reasons to justify their defeat.