I am not going to write extensively on these stories on Iraq, but they are “must reads” to see how the debate on Iraq is shifting with the progress inside Iraq.

First up is an Economist article that covers all the progress and notes things could still go bad, but could also (more likely) go well in Iraq.

But times have changed dramatically. Once widely considered the most dangerous and xenophobic city in Iraq and one of the country’s most resilient havens of al-Qaeda, Falluja is now enjoying a new, if tentative, peace. So, no less strikingly, is the whole of Anbar province, in which Falluja lies, and most of the Euphrates river valley. The Americans say that if you go north and north-west through Hit and Haditha and up to the border with Syria near the town of Qaim, it is clear that al-Qaeda has been chased out—with the co-operation of the local Sunnis and the tribal leaders. In those areas, which embrace the vast majority of Iraq’s Sunni Arabs outside Baghdad, attacks against the American-led coalition forces have dropped more than tenfold compared with a year ago.

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The turning point, apparently, was the al-Qaeda suicide-bombing of a policeman’s funeral in May, when at least 27 locals were killed. Suddenly, it seems, the people began to react against al-Qaeda’s excesses—the enforcement of strict dress codes, the banning of music, even (it is said) the cutting off of smokers’ fingers—and were ready to endorse the local sheikhs’ deals with the American army, even though it had pulverised their city.

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All the indicators suggest that violence has subsided sharply nearly everywhere, not just in Anbar, but also in Baghdad. The border crossing to Syria near Qaim has opened after several years’ closure. The oil pipeline from Kirkuk, which goes north into Turkey and should carry more than a fifth of Iraq’s oil exports, has been flowing almost without a break for the first time in years; in 2006, it was open for barely 40 days.

The authors can’t let go of their pessimism, even in light of all the progress they report. As you read it the grudging nature of the reporting is evident. But the facts and data presented in this article are really good and show how broad and deep the progress has been in Iraq.

This story from RCP highlights the new leaders in Iraq – the Sunnis who through off al-Qaeda’s yoke and whip.

Six months ago Sheikh Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman al-Dulaimi predicted that tribal leaders would defeat al-Qaeda in Anbar province, the Sunni tribal heartland. Now the young prince of the Dulaim, one of Iraq’s largest tribes, exults that al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been driven out of Anbar by tribal fighters aided by American troops.

The sheikh receives guests in a large reception room decorated with historic photographs of his father and grandfather in traditional flowing robes, meeting respectively with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and King Faisal II of Iraq. A young man with a trim goatee, in a gray suit and open-collared shirt, Ali Hatem’s hand is constantly hitting the “off” button on his cell phone.

That’s because tribal sheikhs all over Iraq are constantly calling him for information about the movement in Anbar, sometimes called the Awakening (sahwa in Arabic). “People I’ve never heard of before want relations with the sahwa,” says Ali Hatem. “The sahwa is not just an awakening of force but an awakening of heart and spirit, an awakening from sectarian hatred.”

They are regional heros, visited by leaders from across the ME. The Arab Muslim world has a new role model – the brave Sheiks who took on and defeated al-Qaeda! If people cannot grasp the importance of this new phenomena they won’t understand where Iraq and America are headed in a bright new future. The al-Qaeda slayers as heros spells the end of Bin Laden and his thugs. Bin Laden was the hero of the Muslim world, now the Sunni enemies he created have taken that crown from him.

Addendum: I cannot resist adding this pathetic bit of spin from a pro-Islamo Fascist website trying to show how everything is just fine for al-Qaeda in Iraq. Note that the source of this delusion is from “one of the most influential Iraqi Sunni leaders today” – who happens to be so popular in Sunni circles he has had to run from Iraq, like is al-Qaeda brethren!

Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, is arguably one of the most influential Iraqi Sunni leaders today.

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He concedes that the “resistance has temporarily” retreated in the face of US-funded al-Sahwa (Awakening Council) militias “but that the resistance is regrouping and will bounce back”.

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How do you explain the security situation improving in areas like al-Anbar province and the lull in Iraqi resistance operations?

Al-Qaeda fighters have committed grave mistakes in Iraq; mistakes that were enough to create a backlash against them and initiate what has become known as al-Sahwa, where the US military and the Iraqi government offer three-month contracts to fund the greed of some tribal leaders, who in their turn arm and fund needy tribesmen to fight al-Qaeda.

Of course the revenge Iraqis want on al-Qaeda for the atrocities they committed on their family, friends and neighbors has NOTHING to do with the sea change in Iraq! Compare this lame propaganda piece with the RCP story above and it is clear who has influence in Iraq and the region – and it ain’t this clown hiding out somewhere outside Iraq.