Iraq On The Right Track With Al Qaeda On The Run

More good news from Iraq is provided by the San Diego Union Tribune. The article sites Osama al-Jadaan, a local tribal leader who states,

“So far we have cleared 75 percent of the province and forced al-Qaeda terrorists to flee to nearby areas,” said Osama al-Jadaan, a leader of the Karabila tribe, which has thousands of members living along the border with Syria.

He claimed his people have captured hundreds of foreigner fighters and handed them to authorities. The drive, dubbed Operation Tribal Chivalry, is designed to secure the country's borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to prevent foreign fighters from crossing in.

The article notes this split with Al Qaeda began about four months ago and has grown more fractured. Now Sunnis in the Anbar province are actively seeking out Al-Qaeda terrorists and turning them over to governmental authorities. Also of note is that Iraqis are no longer calling Al Qaeda in Iraq members insurgents, but are now referring to them as terrorists.

It will be interesting to see where Zarqawi moves to since several of the places he has headquartered Al Qaeda in Iraq do not want him back. The article sites Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin, in the city of Kirkuk, stating,

"The military soon would launch a major attack, with help from the local tribesmen, to clear that region of al-Qaeda as well."

Mosel, once a hotbed of Al Qaeda terrorists is now secured and does not provide a safe haven for Al Zarqawi.

Michael Totten points out on his site that Al-Zarqawi will not be heading back to Biara, Iraq either. Biara was his base of operations prior to and shortly after the US led invasion into Iraq until he was forced out. The people of Biara do not want him back.

“Life wasn’t good. We had no freedom. TV was banned. Women couldn’t walk outside without an abaya. There was violence. Anyone not affiliated with them
was treated badly. During prayer time everyone was required to go to the mosque. If we didn’t go we were insulted and fined 50 dollars.”

As these few articles point out, not only does Al Zarqawi not enjoy the popular support he once did in Iraq, he his now being actively hunted by Sunnis as the foreign terrorist. Like Afghanistanis, Iraqis have seen firsthand what Al Qaeda has in store for them. They do not want the strict Taliban-like rule that Afghanistanis suffered under at the hand Al Qaeda.

Iraqis, actively defending their homeland from terrorists like Al Zarqawi, will finally make Iraq prosper and move forward as a new democratic powerhouse in the Middle East. Sunnis, who initially teamed up with Al Qaeda in Iraq to attempt to regain some lost power, have found this Salifi sect to be too strict in their interpretation of Islam, not beneficial to their cause, and have begun to embrace democracy. These same Sunnis are now turning on Al Zarqawi and actively pursuing his terrorists members throughout Iraq.

2006 will be an interesting year. If things continue in Iraq like they have been in the later part of 2005, Al Zarqawi should either be dead, captured, or moving out of Iraq altogether. The Iraqis have already started to focus on Al Sadr and his ilk as pointed out in a recent post. They do not want external influence in Iraqi matters from Iran, Syria, or Al Qaeda. They believe the US military presence is their best hope at creating a free, democratic society as it continues to transfer power to Iraqi Army units.

It will be interesting to see if the new Kurdish-Sunni pact will be able to unseat Jafari for a more secular PM like Abdel Abdul Mahdi or Iyad Allawi.