The formation of the regional Awakening movements--the groupings of anti-al Qaeda tribes, community leaders, and insurgent groups--threatens to stymie al Qaeda in the largely Sunni regions of Iraq. Al Qaeda has targeted the leaders of the Awakening movements in Anbar, Diyala and Salahadin provinces, and has now taken a shot at the newly minted Awakening movement in Babil province.
Military and intelligence sources have informed us that the formation of the Babil Awakening is underway, however there was little information to confirm this via open source. Omar Fadhil, one of the two authors of Iraq the Model, informed me today that he has seen reporting on the formation of a Babil Awakening in the local Iraqi press. Also, the Kuwaiti News Agency provided confirmation today when it reported an assassination attempt on Sheikh Obeid Al-Masoudi, the chief of the Al-Masoudi clan in the city of the Iskandaria. "Unknown gunmen" stormed Al-Masoudi's home, and "targeted him and his wife with volleys of automatic gunfire." He and his wife are reported to be in critical condition.
Read the rest.... then followup with his reporting over at Breitbart.com where further reporting shows us that Iraqi residents have had enough....of al-Qaeda!!!! (Hat Tip to Power Line)
BAGHDAD (AP) - A battle raged in west Baghdad on Thursday after residents rose up against al-Qaida and called for U.S. military help to end random gunfire that forced people to huddle indoors and threats that kept students from final exams, a member of the district council said.
Read the rest again, it isn't all good news, but these are all steps in the right direction.
Then you definitely have to read Michael Yon's latest piece called "The Final Option." OUTSTANDING writing.
Elsewhere we see that U.S. Commanders are speaking with Iraqi Militants about a cease-fire, lay down their weapons, go back to living their normal lives and they will not be punished for previous actions.
WASHINGTON — U.S. military commanders are talking with Iraqi militants about cease-fires and other arrangements to try to stop the violence, the No. 2 American commander said Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said he has authorized commanders at all levels to reach out to militants, tribes, religious leaders and others in the country that has been gripped by violence from a range of fronts including insurgents, sectarian rivals and common criminals.
"We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces," Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Baghdad.
"It's just the beginning, so we have a lot of work to do on this," he said. "But we have restructured ourselves to organize to work this issue."
Odierno said it augments reconciliation efforts by the Iraqi government.
I understand that some will feel frustrated with actions that amount to amnesty, but, if a deal such as this can be brokered there will be far less bloodshed and the governnment will have a fighting chance to settle the differences and get to moving in the right direction.
Some times you have to give a little to get a lot, so, good luck to our commanders in brokering such a deal.
Unrelated to Iraq but related to the Middle East, Fred Thompson, via Townhall asks a very good question.
I am posting the question here, then go read the whole thing after you answer it to yourself.
Let me ask you a hypothetical question. What do you think America would do if Canadian soldiers were firing dozens of missiles every day into Buffalo, N.Y.? What do you think our response would be if Mexican troops for two years had launched daily rocket attacks on San Diego -- and bragged about it?
If you are honest you will admit there is no way in hell we would casually sit back and take that without retaliating in a way that makes sure that behavior is not repeated.
Now go read the rest. Scoot!!!
If you want more good news, some of it downright great news, just head over to Centcom's daily news releases and look for yourself.
You certainly won't find these articles in the NYT or at CNN, because it isn't negative enough even though there IS bad news within those daily news releases, they cannot stand to have to show "balance" and report the good news along with the bad.
That would be..... FAIR, and we all know better from our media these days, don't we?
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