More tribes rally to our side against al Qaeda in Iraq

Washington Times:

U.S. forces have brokered an agreement between Sunni and Shi'ite tribal leaders to join forces against al Qaeda and other extremists, extending a policy that has transformed the security situation in western Anbar province to this area north of the capital.

The extremists struck back yesterday with a suicide car bomb aimed at one of the Sunni tribes involved in the deal, killing three militiamen and wounding 14.

Members of the First Calvary Division based at nearby Camp Taji helped broker the deal on Saturday with the tribal leaders, who agreed to use members of more than 25 local tribes to protect the area around Taji from both Sunni and Shi'ite extremists.

Yesterday's suicide attack took place at a checkpoint that was set up under the security plan and run by members of the al-Zobaie tribal militia, nicknamed "Freedom Fighters" by the U.S. troops. The Americans say they were attacked daily in the area 12 miles north of Baghdad before Saturday's deal.

"We want to protect innocent civilians from killing and kidnapping," said Nadeem al-Tamimi, a Shi'ite tribal leader. "We have been working against al Qaeda for two years and paying for it from our own pocket. But we're not just against al Qaeda. We're against all murderers and thieves."

Shortly after that meeting, Mr. al-Tamimi received a call saying one of his relatives had been assassinated in what was described as a "warning" from the Mahdi Army, a Shi'ite militia nominally loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

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What should be important about this story is the futile nature of the enemy attacks. The political momentum in Iraq is going in our direction and it is clear that the al Qaeda brand is being overwhelmingly rejected everywhere but in the US Congress. The Iraqis have decided to help us fight this infestation and the Democrats are turning their backs on the facts and the fight. But the news we should also take away from this story is that the response of the enemy did not change the deal taht the tribes have made. It cemented it.