Posted on 11/02/2007 11:53:42 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
Al Qaeda terrorists have been "almost defeated" in Iraq's Anbar province, once considered the heart of the resistance to the U.S.-led coalition, a top Anbar Sunni leader said yesterday.
But Abdulsalam Mohammed, chairman of the Anbar Provincial Council, and other top Anbar officials visiting Washington said U.S. troops and billions of dollars in U.S. aid will still be needed for years to train and equip local security forces and restart the devastated local economy.
"Al Qaeda is almost defeated in Anbar, except for only small parts of the province," Mr. Mohammed said, speaking in Arabic through an interpreter.
The overwhelmingly Sunni residents of Anbar broke with the Islamist terror group "because it became very, very clear that theirs was not a religious ideology, but an ideology of murder and kidnapping and taking what is not theirs," he added.
The so-called "Anbar Awakening" — an alliance of Iraqi tribal leaders who allied with U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda — has been one of the unexpected success stories of the U.S.-led campaign, driving down violence and driving out militants in a province some U.S. officials had given up for lost just a year ago.
Sheik Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, founder of the "Anbar Salvation Council" of local Sunni tribes, was killed by a bomb in Ramadi in September, just 10 days after he met with President Bush in Iraq to discuss his movement. Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, the slain sheik's brother, was a member of the Anbar delegation visiting Washington.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Good stuff. Thanks JH2.
Regards
Thank you to President Bush for standing tall.
ping
“Memo to Harry Reid...Memo to Harry Reid...”
Calling all defeatist...Calling all defeatist...
We win, you lose...We win, you lose...
What about apologies from all the ostiches that said al quaida was not in Iraq?
The Surge was a Success and Victory is Ours
AQ can run but they can no longer hide
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Amen to that!!!
This doesn’t mean it’s time to leave Iraq.
Amen to Victory.
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