Anbar Province is, for all intent and purposes, now liberated from al-Qaeda. Yes, car and truck bombs can be snuck into any place and kill tens or hundreds of Muslims. But al-Qaeda is not wanted and will never rule Anbar – once host to the capitol of Bin Laden’s modern caliphate. We can see this in the words and deeds of the local leaders in Anbar:

RAMADI, Iraq: Sunni sheiks and community leaders met Saturday in this city west of Baghdad and pledged to fight terrorism and restore peace and security to Anbar province — for years the heart of the insurgency.

They also called for the release of security detainees who had not been convicted of crimes and for a bigger role for their group in representing Sunni interests.

The meeting, attended by dozens of Sunnis including tribal leaders, clerics and professors, was held at the provincial council headquarters in this city, which used to be an insurgent stronghold until many tribesmen decided to fight al-Qaida.

Among those present were members of the Anbar Awakening, which was formed in April by more than 200 Sunni sheiks who said the group would become a national party. Its platform includes opposition to al-Qaida and cooperation with the government.

Also present were officials with the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni group in Iraq. Sheiks from as far away as Rutbah near the Jordanian border and Qaim on the Syrian border attended along with their parties.

At the end of the meeting, the participants issued a statement stating that they have agreed to “stand in one line against the terrorism and defeat it” and work united to return life to its previous nature in this province, build the governmental institutions and the services to citizens.

This is huge and deserves a lot more coverage and celebration. The sea change washing over Iraq is stunning – and it is accelerating. Al-Qaeda is left to showing how they can brutally kill Muslims en masse. This will not endear them to the Iraqis or the broader Muslim street. But this show of common support by Sunni tribes from across Iraq WILL make an impact on the Muslim street. These Muslims are openly and happily rejecting al-Qaeda after being subjected to their jackboots and oppression. They have first hand knowledge of al-Qaeda. As I said, Zawahiri is realizing way too late his thugs have created a massive backlash against al-Qaeda. As it spreads across Iraq it will then spread across the region. And we have George Bush to thank for not wilting in the face of the tough times to bring us to this successful end game.

Anbar Province, Iraq, is free of al-Qaeda’s domination. It may suffer al-Qaeda’s murderous brand of Islamo Fascist thuggery, but Anbar is now an Iraqi Province independent and opposed to al-Qaeda. It is indeed a great day in Iraq and the world. This truly deserves a global concert in celebration.

Update: And for those who don’t think this is a big deal I would note that Saddam Hussein is out of power and Iraq is now a democracy (which will give people in the region an option other than Jihad), al-Qaeda’s ‘central front’ (their words) in their holy war is now a holy disaster for them and the US has shown that attacking America brings grave consequences to those who think we will sit by and let 3000 innocent souls die (some would gladly sit on their butts and let things like 9-11 go unanswered – they are called “liberals” (aka progressives)). Other than that, I guess not much has changed in the Middle East (especially if you look at the region with your eyes and mind closed). There are infinite excuses not to act and cower from the bad things or the hard things in life. Few show the courage to find out how to change things for the better.