Until the Anbar Awakening occurred and the angry Iraqi Sunni tribes hunted down al-Qaeda and purged them from their areas. Then al-Qaeda set up the second capitol city of the Muslim caliphate, in the city of Baquba in Diyala Province. While the SurrenderMedia nd Surrendercrats moaned and groaned about unavoidable defeat of The Surge in Iraq, I noted that as goes Diyala so goes Iraq. And here we are only a little over a year since I made those predictions and al-Qaeda’s modern caliphate is now firmly under the control of a democratically elected Iraq, which is also an ally with America in its war against al-Qaeda.

A transfer of responsibility from Multi-National Division – North Soldiers to Iraqi Security Forces was finalized in the southern Balad Ruz area of the Diyala province of Iraq Aug. 2.
The volatile area of Diyala, where two operations are currently being conducted, has seen success with security for the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and local residents.

Americans may not appreciate how humiliating this is for al-Qaeda and the Islamo fascists movement. The prophesied center of the new militant Islam has fallen into moderate Muslim hands. The Great Satan was not vanquished, and all the Muslims who died at the hands of al-Qaeda’s thugs were victims of a greater evil. Now, in the supposed cities of the modern caliphate in Bin Laden’s wildest dreams, he and his organization are the enemy of Islam.

Mission Accomplished. We thank all those who fought and sacrificed, and their families, for seeing this thing through to victory. This nation owes you all a historic debt. As does the world.

While others have been hesitant to call Iraq a victory up until recently, I felt the die was cast months ago (actually over a year ago). When the Sunni Muslims took the extraordinary step to wage war on al-Qaeda, and ally with the Iraq and US government efforts and forces, there seemed little chance of defeat. No insurgency can stand up to a public uprising against it, in parallel with a government crack down – there is no path to victory in those situations.

More to the point, I said last year “as goes Diyala [Province], so goes Iraq”. I felt then Diyala would be al-Qaeda’s last bastion, since it was the location of the second Capitol City of Bin Laden’s modern Caliphate (the first one being Ramada in Anbar Province, which was lost to them in late 2006). Clearly losing two capitol cities within a year to your enemy must be a sure sign of defeat. I had no idea the path would be so long and weave through so many Provinces (then again, a good military effort hides its plans and all I had to view the effort were biased news reports). But it seems I was right in the end.

Here is one of my earliest posts on the matter from June 2007:

As goes Diyala so goes Iraq, the Surrendercrats and the SurrenderMedia. Too bad the GOP had to implode over Immigration. They could have enjoyed the success, but now they are in tatters. And Bush will be looking good if Iraq does rise up against al-Qaeda. He’ll be looking damn good. As will McCain and Leiberman, BTW.

And here is another post from August 2007:

So Anbar rose up and killed and chased al-Qaeda from its region, with our help. Diyala Province then became the last large sanctuary for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The Surge was orchestrated to close the noose around al-Qaeda in Diyala. But it would only really work if, as in Anbar, the local population rose up to kill and chase al-Qaeda out of their Province. And if that happened we had the making of a domino effect that would not only sweep Iraq, but would sweep across the Middle East and the Muslim world. That is why I said, as goes Diyala so goes Iraq and the world.

It was not as crazy a prediction as many like to make it out to be. Once the Muslim Street rose up against al-Qaeda there was not turning back because of the blood feud concept in Arab culture. It was hard to see anything that would reverse that kind of Tsunami change. Here we are, a year later, and we have the last battle for security in Iraq in none other than Diyala Province:

Iraqi security forces are poised to launch a major crackdown in Diyala Province, the Interior Ministry said Sunday, the latest in a series of operations aimed at stabilizing the country.

…

U.S. and Iraqi officials say a campaign against Al Qaeda in the northern city of Mosul and surrounding Nineveh Province has helped reduce violence there. Other operations have targeted Shiite militias in the southern provinces of Basra and Maysan.

“Soon, the security forces will be in Diyala to play the role they played in Basra and Maysan and Mosul, and Diyala could be the last stage,” Major General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said at a news conference.

…

Overall attacks across Iraq were down 85 percent in June from a year ago, the Iraqi military said last week.

…

Iraqi security forces were taking the lead in more than 75 percent of security operations, the national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, told CNN.

As noted the Iraq government also vanquished the Shiite Mahdi Militia during this period. Well, it is nice to be vindicated after a year of being labelled Pollyannish and overly optimistic. The Surrendercrats and SurrenderMedia are paying a horrific price as their credibility has been destroyed. And now Michael Yon, someone of impeachable stature on the Iraq situation and who at one time claimed Iraq was all but lost, is declaring Iraq a victory:

A new and better nation is growing legs. What’s left is messy politics that likely will be punctuated by low-level violence and the occasional spectacular attack. Yet, the will of the Iraqi people has changed, and the Iraqi military has dramatically improved, so those spectacular attacks are diminishing along with the regular violence. Now it’s time to rebuild the country, and create a pluralistic, stable and peaceful Iraq. That will be long, hard work. But by my estimation, the Iraq War is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won.

Yon is very pessimistic on Afghanistan, which is where he and I started with Iraq in late 2006 to early 2007 timeframe. I am not worried. When local populations rise up and the government cracks down, the insurgents have no hope of winning. My guess is that will be the story of al-Qaeda’s demise in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as it was in Iraq (and elsewhere like Lebanon, Libya, etc).

Update: It seems even the Labour Party in the UK is not foolish enough to cut and run from Iraq. If Obama is so enamored by the Europeans, maybe he should take note that the UK is not setting any timetables to remove their troops from Iraq, instead they are staying until the job is done right.

At least 522 Iraqi civilians and security troopers were killed during the month, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press from Iraqi police and military reports. That’s down sharply from April’s figure of 1,080 and the lowest monthly total this year, according to the AP count.

More here where we learn the civilian casualty rate is the lowest since December 2005. Somehow the claims we are defeated in Iraq sound more and more hollow, more and more desperate, more and more delusional.

Update: It’s official, May 2008 was the lowest month for US fatalities for the entire Iraq War (per Gateway Pundit)

 

 

End Update

May 2008 is going to go down in the history books as one of the two least violent months in the entire Iraq war – an amazing result given the fact this month has seen major offenses against al-Qaeda and the Mahdi Army across Iraq:

So far this month, 20 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.

If that number holds through today, May will have the lowest death toll since February 2004, two months before U.S. forces launched a major offensive against Sunni insurgents in Fallujah.

Statistics compiled by the U.S. military show that Iraq troop deaths also are falling, dropping to about 100 through May 24, compared with a peak of about 320 this past July.

That decline is particularly surprising because this month, Iraqi forces swept through the southern port city of Basra, the Sadr City section of Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul.

The role of U.S. soldiers also has begun changing.

In parts of Iraq, soldiers said they feel more like peacekeepers than war fighters.

Indeed, as their Iraqi counterparts lead offensives, U.S. soldiers increasingly are supporting them with logistics by patrolling nearby neighborhoods or training new units.

Just last month in April we saw a spike in violence, making April the deadliest month in 7 months (H/T Gateway Pundit):

 

 

The fact that both US and Iraqi fatalities are dropping during this period is quite telling. And the fact that we see a 57+% drop in violence in one month, to a 4 year low, is also very telling. It indicates that our enemies are about spent, that there is little punch left in them. Typically when we engage the enemy casualties rise – apparently not this month.

It seems we had to get through this last challenge from the Mahdi Army to finally get on the path to victory in Iraq. My bet is violence in Iraq will remain low throughout the summer, primarily because Iraq is preparing for its own national elections this fall and security is what is going to win votes, not who kills the most fellow Muslims (as has been the way of the Islamo Fascist).

The horror stories of how life was under Islamo Fascist rule continues to echo throughout the country, and that is causing the political backlash against exremists. While the Mahdi were not as brutal as their al-Qaeda cousins, any distinction in their depravity is of little consequence. They oppressed, harassed, raped and killed their fellow Muslims in the name of Allah. It was the exposing of this incarnate brutality of the Islamo Fascists which turned the tide in Iraq and defeated the Fascists. It is something no political party can afford to be tied to right now – which is why the Sadrists sued for peace and gave up the Mahdi Army.

A little trip down memory lane regarding the Iraq War is in order. I plan a longer post to review how things transpired from near defeat to near complete victory, but here are some interesting perspectives from months past.

Back in May of 2007 I noted we were seeing the war for the heart of Islam that we needed to see in order to achieve victory. We were seeing Iraqis fight for their own future, throwing off the jackboot of al-Qaeda and siding with America. While it took longer to play out than I anticipated (I have zero access to military data, just highly biased and inaccurate media reports to sift through) it was clear back then that a fundamental change had taken place. One destined to shape the outcome as Iraqi Muslims took up arms against al-Qaeda Muslim fanatics.

If we focus on what is happening in Iraq we see signs that there has been a fundamental shift with Iraqis shunning both al Qaeda and Iranian intervention. The civil war we wanted is here with the Muslim street rising up against Islamo Fascism. Michael Yon reports back from Iraq, after being pessimistic for months, that success is now very possible thanks to the change in allegiance coming from the local Sunni Sheiks. And there is now also a conflict within the Shiia community in Iraq to push back on the Iranians:

In September 2007 I was able to see some real data as General Petraeus reported to Congress on the enormous progress The Surge had achieved in a few short months. The main thrust of this post was how political momentum was going to impact Iraq’s violence levels. Was Iraq following the trends in violence in Anbar Province where the Surge and Awakening first succeeded? Looking at the curves over time for Anbar I made some predictions for Iraq in general:

I want to skip to slide 8, page number 7 to first focus on the Anbar results, to see the model we hope will be reflected across Iraq. These are not projections, this is what happened in Anbar. In Jun 06 the monthly attack rate was above 800 per month. By Oct 06 the al-Qaeda bloodletting peaked at just under 1400 per month. These are attacks – not deaths, but the deaths and injuries will clearly track with the number of attacks. Then we see the shift in alliance occur and by Feb 07 the attacks dropped down to a little over 1100. So the momentum had shifted at this point. And then another factor took over: acceleration. As the tide turned against al-Qaeda the number of attacks in Anbar started to drop off even faster. By Aug 07 the number of attacks in Anbar were down to 200 per month. Anbar is a large and highly populated Province, so 200 per month is a pretty low level and it is one quarter the level from Jun 2006.

If Anbar truly is the model for The Surge, then we will see in the regions just now feeling the impact of The Surge a slow drop off, followed by a huge acceleration in peace as al-Qaeda is taken down and shunned by the locals (with the US providing them the security and back up to take on the viscous thugs of Bin Laden).

…

Anbar appears to be ahead of the rest of trouble spots in terms of driving to success, so we should see the same kind of explosion of change (to varying degrees of course).

The stories above make clear the momentum has shifted towards success. And the data shows we may soon be accelerating towards it as al-Qaeda collapses because the Muslim Street has risen up against it.

…

I think we have passed that tipping point already. But the next 3-6 months will tell for sure. If the violence continues to evaporate, and the government can pull off some key compromise legislation, al-Qaeda will have been defeated and a democratic Iraq will finally stand up to fight al-Qaeda along side us.

This is exactly what happened, albeit a taking a bit longer than I had guessed. But the trend lines across Iraq did follow the Anbar model. There was a slow drop off in the late fall which accelerated into the winter time frame. This year we saw al-Qaeda’s last effort to fight back – their wimpy attempt at executing a “The Battle of The Bulge” like the Nazis tried at the end of WW II. The al-Qaeda last gasp was much less impressive. There was a brief uptick as the Islamo Fascists spent their last efforts. But now we are back on the path to extremely low levels of violence.

Now we find ourselves 8 months since those predictions of mine facing a reality that is much more in line with those predictions than those of the lunatic left:

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the president over Iraq by sending him a letter, ahead of a White House meeting later on Wednesday.

“As many had foreseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results,” the two leaders wrote.

“The increase in US forces has had little impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation.

…

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi today sent the following letter to President Bush urging him to reject his reported plan to escalate the war in Iraq by increasing troop levels and delaying the ability of the Iraqi government take control of their own future.

Note to General’s Reid and Pelosi: Not only did The Surge drastically reduce the violence and bring security to nearly all of the country, the Iraqis have stood up and taken control of their own future as their recent, on-ongoing efforts in Basra, Sadr City and Mosul have clearly indicated.

Credibility is everything when it comes to national security. Who would you trust with the lives of your loved ones? Those who predicted defeat and where wrong, or those who worked the challenges, rose to the occasion and created victory while changing al-Qaeda from the future of Islam into the enemy of Islam? Both the liberal wingnuts and I are on record with our predictions – and history has determined who had the proper foresight. Only by lying to America can liberals pretend to not have been proven so devastatingly wrong.

Al-Qaeda’s deputy leader Ayman al- Zawahiri defended insurgent attacks in Iraq, Algeria and Morocco that killed Muslims and blamed the West for using them as human shields, according to a U.S.-based intelligence group.

Zawahiri was responding to questions posed to him over the Internet after announcing the online interview in December, according to IntelCenter, based in Alexandria, Virginia.

“If there was any innocent who was killed in the Mujahedeen’s operations, then it was either an unintentional error, or out of necessity,” Zawahiri said in the 103-minute audio file released today by al-Qaeda’s media production unit, as-Sahab. “We don’t kill innocents, in fact, we fight those who kill innocents.”

While the western media may be duped into buying this BS, the Muslims who have lived through the atrocities of al-Qaeda are surely of a different mind, and now have been put on notice that they are nothing but useless pawns to al-Qaeda’s desires for world domination. Let’s recap a few of the atrocities Zawahiri thinks are justified.

I would ask Zawahiri how do innocents get carved up in al-Qaeda torture rooms?

Blood-splotches on walls, chains hanging from a ceiling and swords on the killing floor — the artifacts left a disturbing tale of brutalities inside a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq torture chamber. But there was yet another chilling fact outside the dirt-floor dungeon. Villagers say they knew about the torment but were too intimidated by extremists to tell authorities until now.

…

Scrawled in white paint above a bed in the torture area was a Quranic phrase in Arabic normally used to welcome a guest. But the context suggested only sadistic mockery: “Come in, you are safe.”

Clearly Zawahiri must know that the targeting of Sunni Muslim leaders and security patrols is not because they were accidental collateral damage from attacks on Americans. Yet he lies to the families and clans who they attacked saying these Muslims deserved to die? And how is al-Qaeda on a holy war when it kills defenseless women and children and dumps them in mass graves?

Remains of possibly dozens of people believed killed in sectarian violence have been unearthed from a mass grave in a former al-Qaeda stronghold in southern Baghdad.

It was the third such find in Iraq this month.

The remains included those of women and children.

Mass graves are all over Iraq, the product of Zawahiri’s and Bin Laden’s madness. Maybe he can explain how 20 students found in a mass grave was an act for the good of Allah and not the act of vicious animals? How many mass graves filled with women and children will appease these thugs? How many suicide bombs against local Muslims will appease the blood lust of al-Qaeda?

Attackers killed a prominent member of an Iraqi tribe that had taken a stand against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and in other violence today more than 53 people were killed in gunfire and bomb attacks.

Among the attacks were two suicide bombs in the northern city of Tal Afar and the murder of two elderly Chaldean nuns in Kirkuk.

…

Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Fallujah, western Iraq, on Wednesday and 15 Iraqi and United States security forces were injured, the US military said.

The best example of al-Qaeda’s holy war I saw was back when “The Awakening” took root, and it was no surprise why Iraqi Muslims had decided to take the dramatic move and turn on their one time allies:

“AQI is both feared and hated,” Capt Broekhuizen said, referring to Al Qaeda in Iraq. “They’ve been running a brutal terror campaign. No city leaders are left here who will take a leadership role.” Marines from Golf Company said they recently fished two bodies out of the local river: a man had been decapitated, and his 4-year old tied to his leg before both were thrown into the river and the little boy drowned. The killings were a product of Al Qaeda terror.

There are thousands of stories about al-Qaeda’s sick brutality against Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere. They don’t get play here in the West, but they are etched into the psyche of Muslims who have had a taste of al-Qaeda close up. Zawahiri can try and defend these acts as necessary, but he is kidding no one. Oppression is only necessary to those who plan to enslave people for their own purposes. Zawahiri has put Islam on notice: al-Qaeda is at war with Islam until it bows to down to them. And they will inflict any kind of atrocity they can dream up to ensure Islam is enslaved to their sick wishes. Hitler had nothing on these animals.

SInce the SurrenderMedia likes to bury and minimize the truth of Iraq, we have to start in the middle of the story where all the gems are scattered around so as to not draw too much attention to them:

Only seven months earlier, Americans had stormed into Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province. They secured and held the city, but allowed some insurgents to escape into the surrounding countryside, where they continued to torture, kidnap and murder.

Emphasis mine. The SurrenderMedia now admits, albeit too briefly and casually, that it is al-Qaeda that is torturing, kidnapping and murdering Iraqis. Also implicit in this sentence is the role America plays – as liberator and protector – in this historic battle of civilizations. The phrasing ‘allowed some to escape’ is inaccurate and extremely biased because it implies the US had a choice that some would escape and deliberately let them. This is of course an out and out lie – but bias and prejudice is simply rationale wrapped around lies to make them palatable to some. No surprise there.

The SurrenderMedia lie in using that phrase pales in comparison to the larger truth being forced from them, that evil is al-Qaeda and hope is America. So we can savour the moment even more as the NY Times chokes out the larger truth – America is wearing the white hats and is the cavalry coming to the rescue.

The Americans had arrived in the northern Diyala River Valley in force in mid-January, during the opening phase of an operation to clear Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia from one of its local strongholds in Diyala Province.

Iraqi villagers had seen government forces arrive before, only to have their areas slide back under insurgent control when they left.

This time is different, the Americans are insisting.

“Our biggest message is that we are coming in with the Iraqi Army, with the Iraqi Police, and we are staying and providing security, and that’s something they haven’t seen before. But until they see it they are not going to believe it,” said Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the American commander in northern Iraq, as he toured villages early in the deployment.

What is the biggest hope for these people? It is for Americans and Iraqi security forces stay. It is not even in doubt anymore! Where would Arab Muslim prefer to live – under al-Qaeda’s jackboot or with American assistance? No argument, no doubt, no question – with American assistance. Does the NY Times, or anyone in the SurrenderNow movement, appreciate how far the debate has shifted in the last year? The Dems do not dare call for an end of the war without finishing the job. They dare not try to cut off funds.

But more importantly, look at this from the view of the Muslims communities in the Middle East. Who is evil? al-Qaeda. Who kidnaps, tortures and murders? al-Qaeda. Who is venerated for giving their lives to fight evil? Those Iraqis who have joined forces with the Americans. Who will get the burial and accolades of a hero? The Iraqis aligned against al-Qaeda. Who is most likely to get ripped apart by a mob if found out? al-Qaeda.

The sea-change view on al-Qaeda in the Middle East is stunning. It is only severe BDS that blinds the SurrenderMedia to what has transpired. They can report statistics all day long:

But American officers argue that their presence, reinforced by Iraqi Army units, will now deprive the extremists of a crucial base. Pointing to a 75 percent fall in attacks from June 2007 to January 2008 across Diyala as a whole, and 85 percent within Baquba over the same period, they say the insurgents will now be further crippled by the loss of a safe haven to manufacture car bombs to send into nearby Baghdad.

“The real victory here is not killing 10, 20 or 30 insurgents; it is that this population here is separated from them,” said Colonel Coffey, commander of the Third Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment, part of the Fourth Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

This kind of rapid and irreversible change is only possible when the local people decide en masse they will strive for a change – even in the face of mortal peril. And successes earned in the face of mortal peril have a way of emboldening the victors, and creating a wave of momentum towards full victory. This too is happening, which is why the results Surge and Awakening keep building more and more.

The dynamics of such movements, once they get going and build up some speed, can be quite breathtaking. And as hard as the SurrenderMedia tries to pretend it is not happening or minimize this kind of building force, it means nothing. Denial by a few outliers that a force is building inside a much larger group has no impact on the larger group. It is like burp in the face of a hurricane – irrelevant. [BTW, I did toy with idea of using the other form of out-gassing common to humans).

Multinational Forces Iraq has confirmed it killed a senior intelligence officer of al Qaeda in Iraq’s network in Diyala. Arkan Khalaf Khudayyir, also known as Karrar, was killed during a raid by “Coalition forces” in Khan Bani Sa’ad on February 17. Multinational Forces Iraq uses the generic term Coalition forces to describe Task Force 88, the special operations hunter-killer teams tasked with dismantling al Qaeda in Iraq’s senior leaders and wider network.

Karrar was described as a senior intelligence leader for al Qaeda in Iraq’s network in Baqubah. Karrar facilitated suicide bombing attacks in the Diyala River Valley. This network also has been responsible for attacks in Baghdad, “to include attacks by female suicide bombers.”

Baghdad has seen a rash of females used as bomber recently. On Feb. 1, al Qaeda in Iraq used two mentally disabled women to conduct attacks at markets in Baghdad. The bombs claimed the lives of at least 73 Iraqi civilians and wounded more than 167.

I am sure there are many Iraqis cheering this news tonight. And in another part of Iraq US forces are cleaning out another element of the al-Qaeda cesspool:

Soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division conducted Operation Helsinki Feb. 15 to clear out al Qaeda fighters from an area here that has typically not received much attention from Coalition Forces.

Helsinki was a combined counter-insurgency operation, which was conducted in partnership with the Iraqi Army, to help enable legitimate governmental organizations and to provide security for the citizens in the Bichigan peninsula, said 1st Sgt. Timothy Seeber, Charlie Company First Sergeant. Seeber called the Bichigan area, west of Balad, an al Qaeda safe-haven that AQI flees to in order to avoid being killed or captured. “AQI is on the run here and they know we have the means and mobility to kill or capture them where they hide,” said Seeber.

Small but consistent progress on a daily basis is bringing down al-Qaeda and raising up the new Democratic Iraq. There will be set backs, and there will also be justice.

A couple and their son as well as a woman neighbour taking part in the fight against Al-Qaeda have been killed by gunmen near the restive Iraqi city of Baquba, police and relatives said on Tuesday.

“Armed men of Al-Qaeda attacked the home of Faraj Dahshem al-Zaydi in Sheikh village on Monday. They killed the 60-year-old man, his wife, their son Mustafa, 18, and a 35-year-old neighbour,” police Liutenant Colonel Najim al-Sumaidi told AFP.

“The armed men put the three members of the family in a room of their home and gunned them down,” he said.

This act will not endear Iraqis to al-Qaeda’s cause. It will probably move Iraqis to double their efforts to purge their country of these vermin. The fact a pack of armed men can raid a house of an old couple is not a demonstration of strength – it shows how weak and desperate al-Qaeda is now. They don’t fight armed Iraqis and they run from armed Americans. al-Qaeda is now left to prove its potency through attacks on unarmed or weakly armed civilians. How pathetic.

And on the flip side we see the US and Iraqi forces continue their sweep and rounding up (or killing preferably) of al-Qaeda’s remnants. And the larger picture of Iraq is not that poor family pushed up against the wall of their home and executed by petty thugs, it is that where al-Qaeda has been defeated there is a bright future being built for Iraqis:

I recently had the privilege of returning to Iraq and, more specifically, to Al Anbar province for my third tour. I say privileged for a number of different reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity to again serve with young Americans — the best of their generation — in combat.

…

I have been away for three years. What I have found in the week I have been back can only be described as shocking.

When I was here last, dozens of IEDs detonated every day in Al Anbar. Fire fights were as common as IEDs, and mortar and rocket attacks a nightly routine. The emirs of al-Qaida and other equally murderous groups predicted our imminent defeat as they pursued a sick form of extremism no rational man or woman here, or anyplace else, could fathom.

…

Several days ago I walked through the market section of Fallujah. It was bustling with Iraqis of all ages buying and selling products of every description. Adults waved, pressed forward to shake hands and many, like good businessmen everywhere, tried to make a sale. Kids swarmed around the Marines trying out the few English words they have learned in schools that now are all open. Parents no longer fear to send their boys and girls to learn, a practice that under the extremists often was a death sentence.

The change is not only stunning, it is so stark it seems to emphasize the different world’s that would exist under US alliance or al-Qaeda dominance. You can literally go from one part of Iraq to another and experience what those two worlds have to offer. The killers, torturers and rapists (forced marriages) that Code Pink and other nut cases claim exist are the acts of al-Qaeda, not US Marines from Beserkly, CA.

And while some liberal well-to-do’s with more time on their hands than brain power to fill that time may not get it, the Iraqis and the Muslims of the Middle East get it in spades. They see Fallujah springing to life in the areas al-Qaeda has been purged from and see the news about a family pushed up against the wall and executed. They can’t miss it, they have front row seats.

I would like to see al-Qaeda stopped, or them stop their killing, but that is because now each death they cause is not making any new points, it is simply emphasizing the truth: al-Qaeda exists to execute bloody and brutal dominance on people who are their betters. The word is their fighters are the down-trodden and poor. Well we now know it is a bunch of wealthy brutes who see themselves as the rulers of mankind inciting criminal losers into suicidal fervor to pay back those who succeeded in life (where they failed).

al-Qaeda cannot control these brutes because they are mindless, violent criminals. al-Qaeda is a path to fascism just like that under Hitler and his Nazis. And an alliance with America is the opposite choice. It is time Americans realized this and took pride in the choice they offer this world.

“They [the security forces] arrested the acting director, accusing him of working with al-Qaeda and recruiting mentally ill women and using them in suicide bombing operations,” a hospital official said.

Ibrahim Muhammad Agel, director of the hospital, was killed in the Mansour district of Baghdad on December 11 by gunmen on motorbikes. Colleagues suspect that he was shot for refusing to cooperate with al-Qaeda. Even before Sunday’s arrest, US officials believed that al-Qaeda was scouring Iraq’s hospitals for mentally impaired patients whom it could dupe into acting as suicide bombers. They said that al-Qaeda had used the mentally impaired as unwitting bombers before. “We have fairly good reason to believe this is not the first time they have recruited mentally handicapped individuals,” said one senior officer, though he did not think there had been more than half a dozen cases.

Few people are crazy enough to buy into Bin Laden’s butchery, so these animals go out and find sick people they can trick. The true face of Jihad al-Qaeda style is now very clear. It is not movement of the future, it is the sick and deranged blood lust of malcontents and criminals who would stoop to any low.

I wrote recently about the al Qaeda documents found by Iraqi and US forces, now the transcripts are available ofr all to read. Here is one fascinating snippet:

Its group Emir called [redacted] (Detained), and the number of fighters in the Battalion were 200. … The battalion was one of the first battalions whose numbers of fighters was tarnished after Abu-Haydar al-Ansari Battalion, and the number of fighters is now only ten.

The al-Ansari Battalion mentioned here went from 300 fighters to 17. The passages are very interesting to read, as the anger at those who turned their backs against jihad just comes rushing out, demanding more brutality for the snub. Thus is the vicious cycle of hate and defeat al-Qaeda finds itself in across the Muslim world.

I found an interesting editorial from the ME which blames Bush for being stubborn, and yet notes the fact that it is al-Qaeda’s fault for losing Iraq through their continued bloodlust. Some people will never understand that determination in the face of murderous evil (and you don’t get much more murderous or evil than al-Qaeda) is not the reason murderous evil fails. It is the reason freedom wins out in the end.

There is a new Iraq and US action in the Mosul region to defeat al-Qaeda’s last remnants. Given what we have seen in the way of local intel tips and leads, and the fact AQ is now fleeing the area, this should be successful, and could be the final stage of major fighting. We shall see. al-Qaeda is tenacious, but they are not invincible.

Rich Lowry highlights the sea-change in a small village in Iraq as the march of freedom continues to spread across even the rural areas of Iraq:

This small, rural village in the Diyala Province north of Baghdad experienced a revolution a month ago. It had been controlled by al-Qaeda and its band of teenage killers who terrorized the place. The mayor of the nearby city of Muqdadiya lived here — until al-Qaeda blew up his house and he fled. The village became a ghost town.

Then, for the first time in five years of war, U.S. troops showed up. They captured key al-Qaeda leaders, and the rest ran away. Local citizens formed a makeshift security force, and people returned to the streets. Suddenly, it was a new day.

…

At this village level, the war on terror is less a grand ideological struggle than an elemental fight to replace men with guns who want to prey on the local population (al-Qaeda) with men with guns who want to help it (us). It doesn’t take a romanticism about human nature to realize most people will prefer the latter.

Gen. Mark Hertling, who commands American forces in the north, recalls being introduced in the village of Himbus to a 12-year-old girl who had pointed out where the al-Qaeda thugs were hiding. “I asked her why she had done that,” Gen. Hertling says, “and she said, ‘They killed my two brothers, my father couldn’t farm, and I couldn’t go to school.’ ”

In Iraq it is clear al-Qaeda is not the future of Islam, it is seen as the enemy. It will take a long time for the nay-saying SurrenderMedia to realize how big a change has swept that country. Even now these professional doubters of America look for marginal imperfections in a massive force of popular will – as if the ever present imperfection of human kind could stop the demise of al-Qaeda’s fortunes in Iraq. But this obsession with trying to salvage defeat from success in Iraq is a personal emotional issue for those on the liberal left to deal with. It is a denial of reality – it is not changing reality. To those who lost loved ones to the Bin Laden’s butchers, and now fight to bring them to judgement, the inability of some journalist or politician in the West to grasp the anger and hate that now enshrouds al-Qaeda is of no consequence. The focus is on routing and destroying al-Qaeda for their heinous crimes. Nothing else matters.

As Operation Phantom Phoenix and its subordinate operations progress in central and northern Iraq, Coalition forces confirmed killing a senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader in Diyala province. Coalition force killed Abu Layla al Suri, who is also known as Abu Abd al Rahman, during an intelligence-driven raid in the city of Miqdadiyah in Diyala province, where al Qaeda has established a safe haven.

Al Suri, which translates to “the Syrian,” was leader in Diyala, the province al Qaeda claimed as the capital of its Islamic State of Iraq during late 2006. Multinational Forces Iraq did not respond to an inquiry from The Long War Journal about al Suri’s nationality. He was “intricately involved in the terrorist network operating in the Diyala River Valley region since October 2006, and was closely associated with several al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders,” Multinational Forces Iraq reported.

This is part of an Iraqi led effort, with US forces supporting, to rid their country of their enemies in al-Qaeda. And the Iraqis are very, very confident that they have the intelligence (note the reference in the article above) to destroy al-Qaeda:

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called the Mosul mission a “decisive” final push against al Qaeda but Major-General Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. troops in northern Iraq, cautioned on Tuesday against describing the joint operation in such terms.

The US is rightfully cautious until they see the results. But the Iraqis have been steadfast in their confidence that they have the intel to deal al-Qaeda a major blow, and reports over the last week or so seem to support their confidence. Bill Roggio has a great post up on Operation Phantom Phoenix, which is worth a read if you want to know what is really happening on the ground verses the media-filtered spin. More here from Bill on actions in one of the many elements of Phantom Phoenix (this one is a few days old). The fact is al-Qaeda is getting hit hard. Yes, they do hit back. But their impact is diminishing as they generate more and more animosity among Iraqi Muslims. They are no longer the future of Islam in Iraq, they are now the enemy of Islam.

First is a review of the situation in Diyala Province Iraq as al-Qaeda is purged from one of their last remaining areas of operation.

This time the sound of Stryker personnel carriers rolling into the town of Himbus had a triumphal rumble to it. Two weeks after launching an offensive to drive Al Qaeda in Iraq from its stronghold in Diyala province, American soldiers were back, arriving in broad daylight in a trio of provincial towns to see townsfolk cautiously venturing into streets they had once avoided and interacting openly with Iraqi security forces.

Platoons watched as residents lined up for fleece jackets and rice being distributed by Iraqi soldiers in the hamlet of Abu Musa. Soldiers mingled with people receiving medical care for the first time in weeks at a clinic in Himbus. And they stood guard while men, women and children filled jugs of kerosene from a tanker truck in Taiha.

“Iraq forces now have control of the bread basket, announced Lt. Col. Rod Coffey, commander of the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. “The facts on the ground are we have freedom of movement and the insurgents do not.”

And as always with the removal of al-Qaeda will come the stories of horrific atrocities by Muslims on Muslims. I still think the big slogan for ’08 will be “al-Qaeda no longer the future of Islam in Iraq, it is the enemy”. True, to the point and the essence of why Iraq was worth it.

Second, some news out of Pakistan. The BBC discusses why Waziristan area of Pakistan is an important and key front on the War on Terror. And the Washington Post notes the US is ready to send in troops to Pakistan if they request it (which could mean they are ready to do so) and notes further enforcement of the Afghan-Pak border where fighting is now the most heated.

Finally, the dems keep losing ground on the cornerstone program of our national security – the ability of the NSA to listen in on terrorists overseas and pass leads to the FBI and FIS Court concerning contacts they have with people here in the US. The liberals are so frightened their aimless babbling will be listened to they forget the focus of our efforts is not on their delusional fantasies but finding when terrorists overseas make contact with potential allies here in the US and stopping them from killing Americans. There is nothing more enjoyable that reading Glenn Greenwald blow his gaskets at democrats over FISA reform.

Update: Seems al-Qaeda has decided the best way to gain converts to Islamo Fascism is to mass murder Muslims. It is how they lost support in Iraq and is it still galvanizing Iraqis to oppose al-Qaeda and ally with the US. You know, Hitler and Moussolini never figured it out either. I know one liberal ghoul who will be happy today. I get emails from some nut named Ken Hoop who relishes every death al-Qaeda pulls off in Iraq. He seems almost to be in orgasm when they kill an American – they guy is seriously emotionally disturbed. He is probably one of the few enjoying the carnage today – must be a related to Goebbels or something.

Nearly one year to the day of the announcement of the “surge” of US forces to Iraq and the change in counterinsurgency plan, Iraqi and Coalition forces have shrunk al Qaeda’s ability to conduct operations inside Iraq, a senior US commander said.

During a press briefing in Baghdad, Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, the Commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said al Qaeda in Iraq has been ejected from its strongholds in the cities to the rural regions of Iraq.

The fact al-Qaeda is hiding out in the small villages and fields of Iraq’s farming areas is a clear indication they dare not attempt to show their face in towns and cities or else they will be hunted down. But even in these areas which are sparsely populated and therefore less able to provide security against Bin Laden’s bloodthirsty thugs al-Qaeda is taking a beating:

Operation Phantom Phoenix, the current nationwide operation targeting al Qaeda’s remaining safe havens, was launched on Jan. 8. Iraqi and US forces have captured or killed 121 al Qaeda fighters, wounded 14, and detained an additional 1023 suspects. Al Qaeda’s leadership has been hit hard during the operation, with 92 high values targets either killed or captured.

Iraqi and US forces have also discovered 351 weapons caches and four tunnel complexes, Odierno said. Iraqi and US forces have also discovered three car bomb and improvised explosive device [IED] factories and 410 IEDs, including 18 car bombs and 25 homes rigged with explosives. Also found were “numerous torture chambers, an underground medical clinic, several closed schools, and a large foreign fighter camp with intricate tunnel complexes,” said Odierno.

While al-Qaeda may find less security out in the rural areas, they also stick out like a sore thumb. In addition, they can be leveled by our military forces with a much reduced risk of collateral casualties to innocents. To survive al-Qaeda must operate in isolated strong holds, hidden as much as possible from the Iraqis who will turn them in to US and Iraqi forces in a nano-second. This just makes them all the easier to take out.

“With less than a week’s notice the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Iraqi Army Division was alerted to deploy from Anbar province to Diyala province to support combat operations in the Diyala River Valley,” said Odierno.” This was a good Iraqi decision and was executed solely by the Iraqis. Within 36 hours upon arrival, the 3rd Brigade uncovered two sizeable caches, gathered significant intelligence and aggressively hunted down al Qaeda in tough terrain and demanding climatic conditions.”

al-Qaeda lost dearly in Iraq. They did not slay The Great Satan but instead created an Arab Muslim backlash that destroyed them instead. They are not the future of Islam in Iraq, they are the enemies of Islam now. And I am sure that sentiment will spread as the word of al-Qaeda atrocities against fellow muslims spreads.

Update: USA Today is adding further fuel to the fire noting Baghdad has gone from 8% secure to 75% in one year. Yeah Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi, that Surge sure was a bust wasn’t it!

There were coordinated car bombing attacks directed at the heart of the Iraqi opposition to al-Qaeda:

A well-respected Sunni leader who was key in helping reduce violence in his northern Baghdad neighborhood was among at least 15 people killed in three separate suicide bombings Monday, officials said.

Both blasts killed members of local Awakening Councils, continuing a spate of aggressive attacks by al Qaeda in Iraq fighters against the groups in recent weeks.

In addition, al-Qaeda kidnapped the family of an anti al-Qaeda leader in Iraq:

Dozens of suspected Al Qaeda militants have kidnapped a tribal chieftain, along with 13 members of his family, in Diyala province northeast of Iraqi capital Baghdad, a provincial police source said Sunday.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see who al-Qaeda is at war with – they are at war with Iraq. And while they have little hope of winning it, we cannot run away or look weak to those who now rely on as allies. Even if we are allies of convenience and not conviction, we need to be there to help those willing, ready and able to destroy al-Qaeda. Because in the end, it must be the Iraqis who purge al-Qaeda, and they must be doing a heck of a job if al-Qaeda is killing Muslims so as to teach them who is in control.

And it is not stopping there. It seems those who have been attempting a peaceful solution with al-Qaeda and the extreme Taliban in Pakistan are now also being slaughtered:

Suspected Islamic militants fatally shot eight tribal leaders involved in efforts to broker a cease-fire between security forces and insurgents in Pakistan’s volatile northwest, authorities said Monday.

The men were killed in separate attacks late Sunday and early Monday in South Waziristan, a mountainous region close to Afghanistan where al Qaeda and Taliban militants are known to operate, a security official and the military said in a statement.

Why go on this killing spree against fellow Muslims? Because the noose is tightening and the savages of al-Qaeda are lashing out for survival in the only way they know how. Of course liberal hand wringers will come rushing out and claim all is lost and the US should run away. Thank god these people weren’t around when Hitler stalked the Earth and we faced Dunkirk and near loss in North Africa. A force like al-Qaeda will not die quietly or easily, but it can be killed (just as the Nazis are now basically dead).

A new poll out shows the battle al-Qaeda faces in Pakistan (and in Iraq). al-Qaeda cannot abide democracy – it is poison to their fascist beliefs. So the more a Muslim country embraces democracy the more an enemy it is of al-Qaeda. The new poll out shows massive support for democracy in Pakistan:

The results, released about six weeks before elections scheduled for Feb. 18, show that a large majority of Pakistanis see democracy as fully compatible with Islam, the pollsters said. Democracy ranked especially high among the 60 percent of respondents who wanted Muslim-based Sharia law to play a larger role in legal affairs.

…

The poll, which has a 3.3 percentage point margin of error, surveyed 907 adults in 19 Pakistani cities from Sept. 12-28. About 49 percent of the respondents were women.

…

At least 60 percent of respondents agreed that al Qaeda and Taliban activities pose a threat to their country’s vital interests over the next 10 years. But more than 80 percent said the same of the U.S. military presence in Asia, including Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s problems right now are not because the US provides them military support. It is because al-Qaeda is massing there and attempting to take down their democracy. Pakistan needs to “Awaken”, and the bloodshed al-Qaeda is inflicting on its people should do the trick sooner or later. I think al-Qaeda’s war on its fellow Muslims is the largest indicator there is it is in trouble. It is not leading Islam, it is trying to beat it into submission. And it is our historic job to make sure that doesn’t happen. Because of al-Qaeda does pound a Muslim state into submission the War on Terror will rage for years more to come.

Oh, if it was all that easy. al-Qaeda is not going to go down easy. And even worse – we have forgotten the horrors of 9-11. We promised we wouldn’t, but we obviously did. We swore to all those who died that day we would not forget, we would not give up, we would not leave their attackers free to attack again. We were united – until the greed of political power began to eat away at some. And then at more and more.

First the left fell away with its ridiculous claims of made-up intelligence prior to Iraq (of course the only story proven to actually be made up was that story by Joe Wilson that he debunked Forged Niger documents – something that did not supposedly exist at the time of his efforts). They decided a Presidential election was more important than their promises to the fallen. They began to destroy our resolve over exaggerated and marginal trivia.

But then the GOP splintered and started attacking itself. It too began to wonder more about political power at home. The President was “Bushilter” or “El Presidente Jorge Bush”. It is embarrassing to face, but we let the pressures of the times create fractures which some exploited.

For the last 3 years the battle cry has not been “Victory to America” it has been “Who Is The Most Pure Partisan”! It has been one of history’s more grotesque examples of losing focus because the fight we face became harder than we wanted. We wanted Gulf War I. We knew back then taking out Saddam Hussein implied years of effort to put it back together again. And back then the far right turned on a President Bush because he told them what they did not want to hear – the facts. And the left jumped at the idea of appeasing butchers.

Let me blunt (since I am no good at subtle): al-Qaeda is banking on America to elect the anti-Bush in 2008 – someone who will find any excuse to snatch defeat from our current momentum towards victory. I know they are banking on this because (a) they like what they saw with the Benazir Bhutto killing and (b) they have sworn to step up their attacks on Iraqis. In fact, they are attacking the very people they wish to lead right now and creating a huge Muslim backlash because they are betting America can still wimp out before it is too late. Here is another story (from a line of stories going back months) on the atrocities of al-Qaeda and the response of the brave Iraqis:

A suicide bomber blew himself up on the hood of a car driven by a member of Iraq’s burgeoning Sunni-dominated security forces, the latest in a series of recent attacks against the U.S.-backed militiamen, according to U.S. military and Iraqi officials.

The bomber struck in downtown Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, where Sunni insurgents began turning on one another last year. These tensions have grown as some insurgent groups, particularly the 1920 Revolution Brigades, have allied themselves with U.S. soldiers against the group al-Qaeda in Iraq.

…

The bomb went off near a passport office, wounding people inside. “When the explosion occurred, I fell down and after a few minutes I raised my head and saw many bodies,” said Asmaa Abdul Kareem, 28, who was taken to the hospital. “What happened is not related to Islam at all — no one accepts this type of action,” she said. “We were civilians and families visiting the passport office.”

Members of the Sunni security force said the blast killed one of their leaders, Abdul Rafia al-Nadawi, known as Abu Sajad, a lecturer in the education department at Diyala University.

Militiaman Ismael Talib, 35, said he saw a bearded man in black clothes jump atop the hood of the vehicle before setting off his bomb. “We expected this act because we decided to confront al-Qaeda,” Talib said. “We have lost more than 25 people from our group, as well as five leaders, in the fight against al-Qaeda.”

Note to John Edwards: what kind of scum runs away from these brave people to let them be slaughtered by the same people who slaughtered our people on 9-11? What kind of spineless coward must you be? And for the record, we have a plan to bring our folks home in victory, and the Iraqis will be the ones replacing our men and women on the front lines to fight against al-Qaeda. So Edwards, stop giving hope to Bin Laden and slamming our forces.

Who would have predicted that after 9-11 Iraqis would be allied with us hunting down al-Qaeda? All we have heard since 9-11 is how impossible it is to win this war against al-Qaeda. Yet here we are winning it. Yet we are still surrounded by people here in America unwilling to let go of their mistaken and wrong predictions.

The fact is we have pushed al-Qaeda out of the areas around Baghdad and we are pushing them up and out the North end of Iraq. The data is there for all to see, if they wish to open their eyes beyond party purity BS:

Almost two-thirds of insurgent attacks in Iraq occur in the north of the war-ravaged country, although overall levels of violence have dropped, a US said on Wednesday.

“The percentage of attacks are much more higher in the north than anywhere else in Iraq,” said General James Boozer, US assistant commander in chief for northern Iraq.

“For example, there’s an average of 50 attacks a day in the north, eight in Baghdad and two or three in Anbar. We can say that 60 percent of the attacks occur in (the north),” he said.

…

Since June, he said, the number of attacks had dropped by around 60 percent across the country and by 40 percent in northern Iraq where about 20,000 US troops are based.
In addition, US forces had stopped insurgents using Diyala — where he said Al-Qaeda militants were concentrated — as a key link to Baghdad, Boozer added.

“Diyala is a crucial line of communication that the enemy wants to keep and that they were using to go to Baghdad. That line is now pretty sealed.”

al-Qaeda is being pushed out of Iraq, and where they have been purged violence drops. You don’t need a PhD in statistics to grasp the correlation between al-Qaeda’s presence and blood running through the streets. They are deadly people, and why some would even think for a moment to give them a chance to rest and regroup is beyond me.

We promised the victims of 9-11 we would honor them by doing whatever it takes to stop another 9-11 from happening. We knew then it meant actual war. We knew then it was a ‘generational’ battle. Yet we have not even made it through one President’s terms in office, let alone a generation, and we are losing our resolve. We find rationalizations aplenty to give up and quit, few to go on and win. We see more ideas that let al-Qaeda go before we can deliver the final blow.

For those interested in winning, in making good on our pledges to see this through, I have some words to share:

I mean our challenge is the Terrorists’ War on Us, that’s the challenge of our generation. It’s the challenge that has been handed to us; we didn’t go looking for it, just like, going back to parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, depending on your age, they weren’t looking for a Depression and they weren’t looking for a Second World War. That’s not something that they wanted but they were able, when it came about, to deal with it and to deal with it in an effective way that has made them legendary.

…

“Since September 11th, actually specifically since September 20th, 2001, our nation has been on offense against terrorism. As a consequence it looks like we’ve stopped about twenty-three terrorist attacks, at least that’s the public information that we can find when we look through all of the reports.

…

But it does signify a group of people who have converted what originally were religious beliefs into a political ideology and an ideology of violence and attack. So we’ve got to be able to face what you’re dealing with in order to deal with it, whether it’s an enemy or a group of enemies, you’ve got to be able to face it squarely in order to deal with it.

…

We’re in the middle of a struggle that puts freedom versus fundamentalism, hope versus fear, democracy versus conflict. We didn’t seek this conflict, we didn’t start this conflict but we must finish it and we will win it. I guarantee you that we will win it.

…

“In fact, you and I know that America is stronger, much stronger, because of our ability to disagree with each other in a peaceful way and in a decent way, which is the hallmark of democracy, and that we stand up to tyrants and dictators and terrorists and bullies. We’ve done it in the past, we’re going to do it again, and no one, absolutely no one, should mistake our democracy for a lack of resolve to defend ourselves and to protect ourselves.

These are the words of someone who feels in his heart a mission, a mission to defeat al-Qaeda and stop any future 9-11s. He is not speaking of policy or in sound bites, he is speaking of a terrible reality that has been forced upon us which too many have decided to try and wish away. He is facing it head on. He is one of the few who is not an anti-Bush, but will continue the war on terror with the same dedication and resolve as President Bush. That is because he walked among the victims of 9-11, as did President Bush. He mourned their passing in numerous funerals. He, like Bush, led us out of the smoke engulfing Manhattan to stand tall and fight back against the snickering Bin Laden and Mullah Omar.

He is of course Rudy Giuliani and these our his words – our words if you believe in this country and believe we can eliminate Bin Laden and his ilk from this Earth.

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.”

…

“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.

…

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.

These groups are known by many names including: Awakening Councils, Concerned Local Citizens and Iraqi Sunni Volunteers; in Arabic they are known as Sahwas.

As of Dec. 10, 2007, the Americans had signed up 73,397 men, according to the Multi-National Force-Iraq. Of those, about 65,000 are receiving monthly salaries from the American military of $300; a few who are leaders, receive slightly more. The remaining 9,000 men are being vetted or are not yet on active duty in their neighborhoods. Those numbers do not reflect an additional 23,000 who have already been added to the police force in the western province of Anbar.

…

Anbar Province

….Attacks in the province have declined to a tenth of what they were a year ago….

Babil Province

…In areas where the Awakening movement is already in place the Americans are using the Sunnis’ local expertise to man checkpoints, deprive Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia of ground and to squeeze the last pockets of hard-core insurgents out of the Euphrates River valley. By doing this they hope to end the intimidation in remaining areas and establish new Awakening groups…..

Nineveh and Salahuddin Provinces, and Tamim

…With a total of only about 10,000 Awakening Council members in these three sprawling, predominantly Sunni northern provinces, which in the last several months have seen incidents of terrorism rise, there are still too few security forces to control the violence. … [note: this is the area al-Qaeda has been pushed into as they are forced out of Iraq through the North]

Diyala Province

… The Awakening movement in this mixed province northeast of Baghdad began last summer when members of the 1920 Revolution Brigades … Later, a second Awakening Council formed that was tribally based and included sheiks from a number of areas of the province.

Despite these efforts, Diyala today remains one of the most violent areas of Iraq … [note: this is the other area al-Qaeda is attempting to make a stand]

Baghdad

…The Baghdad councils began in June in the Amiriya, a neighborhood near the airport, and now have spread all the way to the Sunni neighborhoods on the eastern side of the river. Those inside the city limits have no more than a few hundred members each. Those outside the city, but within Baghdad Province, have, several thousand members in some cases….

It is a heartening year-end read.