Al Qaeda Fumbles Again

Looks like instead of creating terror, one of the most recent attacks by Al Qaeda in Iraq has had the opposite effect:

RAMADI, Iraq - Iraqi tribal leader Ahmed Abu Risha speaks very softly, but his voice resonates determination—the revolt his brother started against Al Qaeda in Anbar province will not falter despite his death.

A bombing claimed by Al Qaeda killed Shaikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha in his car on Sept. 13 in the provincial capital Ramadi. Ahmed quickly took over an alliance of Sunni Arab tribal leaders his brother had headed to avoid a leadership crisis.

‘The effect his assassination left is only emotional, that we have lost him,’ the quietly-spoken shaikh told Reuters over the weekend in his first face-to-face interview with the Western media since assuming control of the Anbar Salvation Council.

‘His assassination has increased our will to fight Al Qaeda,’ added Ahmed Abu Risha, 42, speaking at the family compound in Ramadi, a series of homes heavily protected by dozens of Iraqi police and armed guards.

(Emphasis mine.)

In fact, this is not the first time that Al Qaeda has miscalculated like this. 9/11 was supposed to send Americans into terror, not send American troops into Afghanistan and Iraq to root out these Islamoterrorists. Also, the reason for the current Iraqi grassroots uprising against Al Qaeda is, in large part, because of the excesses of Al Qaeda in dealing with the Iraqi tribes (which I have blogged about before).

Also worth noting is this story:

TAJI, Iraq - More than 1,200 Iraqi males from in and around Tarmiyah stood in line for hours to join Iraqi Security Forces, local sheiks and Coalition Forces in the fight against al-Qaeda and other insurgent militias in Tarmiyah Sept. 12.

Local sheiks and CF from 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment reached out to the Iraqi people, asking the citizens of the small town of Tarmiyah to volunteer to defend their homes and neighborhoods against the terrorist insurgency in their town.

This concept of the people standing against al-Qaeda and other insurgents has been dubbed an "awakening," or the mental realization that the terrorists offer nothing but fear and injustice.

In short, the enemy is faltering in what used to be their stomping grounds. The Iraqis are realizing that if they want Al Qaeda out of their neighborhoods, they have to help us. This is not the time to turn our backs on the Iraqi people and walk away. This is the time to join hands with them and fight alongside them to defeat our common enemy.