25,000 turn against insurgency, military says

[sabra]

Source: USAToday

General tells of people wanting to fight al-Qaeda

The U.S. strategy to build alliances with mostly Sunni tribal and local leaders has prompted 25,000 of their followers to turn away from the insurgency and at least nominally align with Iraq's Shiite-led government in the fight against al-Qaeda.

The number, from the U.S. command in Iraq, represents the first stab at measuring the effectiveness of the tribal strategy. The trend is likely to be a critical part of a report due in September to Congress and the White House by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.

"I think it is the most significant thing that's happened in the past couple years," said Marine Maj. Gen. Mastin Robeson, deputy chief of staff for strategy and plans for Multi-National Force-Iraq. "They actually have come to us saying, 'We want to join you, we want to fight al-Qaeda.' "

Iraq's Shiite-dominated central government has taken almost no legislative action to resolve differences with minority Sunnis and broaden support for the government. The U.S. military's tribal strategy is an effort to build links with groups, many of them armed, at the local level and tap into their hostility toward al-Qaeda.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070806/a_tr...

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Wonderful news...

And furthermore, I hear that the chocolate ration has been increased again.

[rucky]

2. WOW what a dramatic turnaround!

I take back everything I've said about Iraq and Bush.

[xchrom]

3. about that sunni block walking out of the government the other day...

i don't necessarily think these are bad developments.

but over the past week baghdad has been out of water -- 60 decomposing bodies dumped in baquba -- missing arms, thousands of them -- the government in near collapse -- turkey warning iraq again re: kurdish ''terrorists'' -- and so on --

we've never found the weapons of mass destruction -- we've created enemies we've never had{um -- where do they go IF we stabilize iraq, thin air?} we've never settled the question of the legality of this expensive debacle, we haven't assessed the damage the financial cost of this war to our country, and so on.

NO GOOD has come from this war -- in spite of maccain, romney, and this rest of the ignorant barbaric cheerleaders.

[Kagemusha]

4. There's an unwritten assumption that these tribes were fighting for Al-Qaeda before.

That's totally silly though. Even if the US considered all insurgents to be allies of Al Qaeda, that's certainly not how the insurgents themselves saw it. To them Al Qaeda in Iraq was a tiny, radical offshoot with a lot of unsavory foreigners who enjoyed doing (or at least, being blamed for) dirty work that the other groups didn't want to do (or claim responsibility for).

[Posteritatis]

5. 27,474,638 still in favor, military fails to say. (nt)

[bamacrat]

6. Well that sounds good, but until Americans stop dieing I dont believe it.

We are just creating our future enemies......again.

[ohio2007]

7. ..'We want to join you, we want to fight al-Qaeda.' "...

hmmm.
If they can be vetted, sure but Bring Your Own Bullets

[Lionel Mandrake]

8. I have heard this all before, and I don't believe a word of it.

During the Vietnam War, optimism would break out whenever things looked really bad. The signs of progress were always so subtle that only a high ranking soldier could see them. There was never any truth to them then, and there never will be.

[Javaman]

9. okay, if this is true, why isn't the Iraqi army bursting at the seams

with new recruits and/or applications?

what percentage of these people are of actual fighting age and how many are just paying lip service?

peeyewwww something smells rotten.

[Tempest]

10. They will fight al-Qaeda today

And when al-Qaeda is defeated, they will fight U.S. troops tomorrow with the very weapons given to them by the U.S.

The U.S. is being played as patsies.

[0007]

11. The most significant thing that has happened?