The un-reported news about Iraq’s so-called civil war is that the enemy of the democratic government of Iraq has lost its two self-proclaimed capitol cities in the last year. Ramadi is the capitol of Anbar Province, the Province that was the original al-Qaeda stronghold. It was here al-Qaeda declared they would start the modern caliphate that would take over the Mideast and Mediterranean region. al-Qaeda lost that capitol and the Anbar Province when the local people turned against them and sided with the US coalition and the Iraqi government.

al-Qaeda then moved to Diyala Province on the other side of Baghdad and set up their new capitol in Diyala’s capitol city of Baquoba. The result of the surge is al-Qaeda has now lost its hold on its second self-proclaimed capitol. One wonders why losing two capitol cities in less than a year is not big news?

Well, ousted from Baquoba al-Qaeda tried to return and retake Ramadi – and failed:

US troops won a fierce battle outside Al Qaeda’s former stronghold in western Iraq, the military said on Tuesday, as commanders warned that recent victories must not be taken for granted while car bombings in the cities of Kirkuk and Baghdad killed at least 20 Iraqis.

US soldiers and marines, backed with attack jets and helicopter gun ships, killed 23 insurgents in the weekend clash and foiled an apparent attempt to revive Al Qaeda influence near the group’s former bastion of Ramadi. Although Al Qaeda declared the city its capital last year, the group’s attacks against civilians and local leaders have turned much of Anbar province’s population against it.

And al-Qaeda is straight from al-Qaeda’s mouth [note: new link]:

A British cleric says an alleged al-Qaida chief cryptically warned him of last weekends’ failed bombings in Britain months before they occurred, saying “Those who cure you are going to kill you.”

…

Canon Andrew White, a senior British cleric working in Baghdad who meets regularly with extremists in an attempt to quell sectarian violence.

He said Wednesday that he met the man privately with a translator and a sheik after holding talks with Sunni Muslim tribal and religious leaders in the Jordanian capital of Amman on April 18.

al-Qaeda cannot be appeased and will follow us o matter how far back we ‘redploy’ our forces. Even under attack in Iraq al-Qaeda was able to launch an albeit lame attack on London. Think of what al-Qaeda could do if it controlled Iraq. We cannot fail in Iraq – that has to be clear to everyone now.