A conversation with my interpreter

**Welcome back, Mudville readers! Feel free to leave me a comment!**

One of my new favorite blogs is the Strategy Page - The post is fantastic, but I wanted to comment on a particular section on why terrorist activity has been down lately in Iraq. Commenting on the success of the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police, the author writes:

"This success has made it easier, or just possible, for Sunni Arabs to join the army and police. Tribal chiefs in Anbar province have openly urged their young men to apply for these jobs, and thousands have done so. Al Qaeda and Sunni Arab groups still hostile to the government, attack these recruits at great peril. The tribes quickly go for revenge attacks when their people are hurt, and the terrorists are in a bad situation because of this shift in attitudes. There are fewer places where the terrorists can maintain workshops and safe houses. "

I was having a conversation with my favorite interpreter here at lunch yesterday and he was explaining why things in Ramadi have turned really ugly for terrorists. I will paraphrase his words as best I can. He explained that the horrible suicide bombing in Ramadi that killed 70-80 Sunnis waiting to be interviewed for police jobs turned out to be an important turning point for Ramadi. Up until this point, many Ramadi civilians had supported al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist groups operating there. He said a majority of them as I remember. The article stresses in the first paragraph the importance of the residence of Ramadi doing "something they had never publicly done: They blamed al Qaeda in Iraq, the insurgent movement led by Abu Musab Zarqawi."

The important part the news article doesn't discuss is that many of the men killed in this particular suicide bombing were from the same tribe. The main tribal leaders of the city had decided to make a move against al Qaeda, encouraging the people to stand up to unnecessary violence against civilians and encouraged younger Sunnis to volunteer for the Iraqi Police and the Iraqi Army. Zarqawi's reaction was swift and terrible, but what our interpreter told us is the city united against Zarqawi in following weeks due to the strong sense of "family" as we would call it. Their tribes are very close, and killing many of the same tribe and several leaders from different tribes was a costly mistake for al Qaeda because the city no longer feels Zarqawi fights for them.

This is the attitude we are looking for to turn the tide in Iraq. Al Qaeda in Iraq has done all they can to kill as many Iraqis as possible, it is time for the Iraqi people to throw them out!