In Iraq the turning point came when Sunni Muslims, fed up and repulsed by their people being massacred by the Islamo Fascists of al-Qaeda, literally turned on their one-time al-Qaeda allies and began to purge their country of this cancer. President Bush and General Petraeus intelligently took advantage of this sea change in allegiance and surged US troops in a focused and phased effort to cleanse and secure areas of Iraq – starting in Anbar Province and Baghdad and working their way outwards through Diyala Province and other Sunni areas to the point where al-Qaeda is finally being flushed out its last stronghold in Iraq in the areas surrounding Mosul, with Iraqi forces in the lead.

There have been indications off and on for months now there may be a similar Awakening and backlash brewing in the Tribal areas of Pakistan, the last sanctuary of al-Qaeda since they have been rooted out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Today those hints of a Pakistan Tribal Awakening became much more tangible:

Pro-government militants in Pakistan’s restive Waziristan tribal region have joined hands with tribal elders, vowing to expel Uzbek fighters allied to Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

The move, announced at a meeting held yesterday in south waziristan’s capital of Wana, has raised fears of fighting between pro-government militants and Baitullah Mehsud’s men.

The meeting was attended by about 500 elders of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe and representatives of the Taliban ‘shura’ from north Waziristan.

The Ahmadzai Wazir tribesmen and militants vowed to “resist all people from Mehsud-inhabited areas and neighbouring north Waziristan who attack government installations and supporters of Maulvi Nazir”, the news daily reported.

Maulvi Mohammad Nazir is a pro-government militant commander who belongs to the Wazir tribe.

A senior commander of the Maulvi Nazir group said that around 4,000 armed tribesmen of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe had assured his group of their support in any action against “the enemies” of Maulvi Nazir’s Mujahideen and Pakistan government.

This is a very public statement by these ‘pro-government militants’ (an oxymoron if I ever heard one). But the Sunni resistance fighters in Iraq once shared the same kind of moniker. Is this the beginning of the end for al-Qaeda and their radical Taliban cousins? Clearly it is too soon to predict, but it is, nonetheless, a good sign.

I should note that there has been persistent rumors that Uzbek militants are guarding Bin Laden and/or Zawahiri. If the Uzbeks are actually associated with al-Qaeda dwindling leadership is unclear, of course, but it is an interesting point to remember.

Tags: al-Qaeda, Awakening, Baitullah Mehsud, Bin Laden, Pakistan, Taliban, Zawahiri