In the fantasy world of the far left Iraqis are defending their homeland from the US invasion. But in the reality that is the streets of Iraq, defending the homeland from the brutal and violent invaders who maim and kill the Iraq people, who come to oppress them, is to fight al-Qaeda alongside America. This reality is why Iraq has turned from defeat to victory, because Islam is rising up to fight the enemy in Iraq – and that enemy is al-Qaeda:

Last week, about 200 Al-Qaeda fighters overran the neighbouring Shi’ite village of Sufayet and refugees streamed into Dojama with terrible tales. “An Al-Qaeda man shot my uncle in the street in front of our house,” said 10-year-old Abdullah Khaled, illustrating his point with his toy machinegun.

“Then a second one ran over him with a motorcycle. His head squished,” he said. Other boys in the village scampered up and down the dirt streets in mock gun battles. Everyone knew Al-Qaeda was close by.

“Al-Qaeda came at 5am,” said Shaema Muhammad, Abdullah’s mother. “They came to our house because my husband was always talking about how we have to defeat them. My husband escaped but they killed his brother and his cousin.”

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“Al-Qaeda came and they forced me and my husband to move,” she said. “Then they shot my husband. I’ve nothing now.” She joined the 80 refugee families Dojama is already supporting. Food is running low and no government rations have arrived for six months.

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The fighters in Dojama and the villages around Khalis have begged the Americans for weapons and ammunition but none has yet arrived. They went to Baghdad to plead with the government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister. He promised to send soldiers, but for now they are fighting alone.

The Diyala militia is not so far part of the Concerned Local Citizens militias – known as the Awakening movement in Iraq – which the Americans have used with great success to defeat Al-Qaeda in Anbar province in the west and in Baghdad, where violence has fallen dramatically.

Unlike the Awakening, which is made up mostly of former members of Al-Qaeda and Sunni tribes who welcomed the extremist group until it started killing those who would not adhere to its strict Islamic regime, Diyala’s sheikhs are both Sunni and Shi’ite.

“We decided that both the Shi’ite and Sunni are suffering from Al-Qaeda,” said Sheikh Ali Zuheiri, the local leader. “We needed to make one group together to fight this evil. We are fighting for our homes.”

The 28 sheikhs – 15 Shi’ite and 13 Sunni – meet to make decisions together. Zuheiri is Shi’ite; Janabi, Sunni. Their composition reflects the population of the province, almost evenly divided between the two Islamic branches. Shaema, a Shi’ite, has been given refuge with her family by Janabi even though he is a Sunni. Shaema’s husband is Sunni and one of Janabi’s three wives is also Shi’ite.

The SurrenderMedia is trying to portray this as abandoning the Iraqis need, but the reality is we are pushing through and clearing areas. This area is clearly still ‘behind enemy lines’. It will not be much longer. But what the reporting misses is the roles each plays in this human drama. al-Qaeda are the evil enemy and America is the one who can provide resources (both weapons and personnel) and be the protectors. Do people wish we could push the Easy Button (once known as the Jetson Button) and al-Qaeda would disappear? Of course! But the pattern is repeating over and over again. al-Qaeda is not fighting and killing the great Satan America, they are killing Muslims. And this is destroying any support they might have left in the Muslim community.

al-Qaeda is heading to defeat and their only response is to hasten their destruction at the hands of moderate Muslims allied to Americans. It is truly the beginning of the end for al-Qaeda as a major force inside Islam.