Monday, June 11, 2007

Sunnis v. al Qaeda   [Rich Lowry]

It is often argued, see Yglesias here, that the Sunni/al Qaeda split means we should just get out of the way and let the Sunnis take on the terror group. The problem with that, as far as I can tell, is that if we absented ourselves, al Qaeda would prevail. At least that's what guys on the ground seem to think. Here's the Washington Post from the weekend on how the split is playing out in Baghdad:

By afternoon, the Americans had secured the Firdas mosque and were helping treat the wounded who lay in the courtyard. Kuehl drove out from his headquarters to meet with the leaders of the militiamen and work out the terms that would guide their collaboration in coming days. Kuehl agreed to help if the militiamen did not torture their captives or kill people who were not affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq. The militiamen agreed to hold prisoners for no more than 24 hours before releasing them or handing them over to the Americans. They in turn wanted the Americans not to interfere and to provide weapons.

"We need them and they need us," Kuehl said. "Al-Qaeda's stronger than them. We provide capabilities that they don't have. And the locals know who belongs and who doesn't. It doesn't matter how long we're here, I'll never know. And we'll never fit in."

06/11 03:25 PMShare