While the iron is white-hot

We saw in Michael Totten's recent article, that many Sunni's are slowly figuring out that the Americans are not really there to pillage and plunder. But they need time to see this for themselves, after all for many years they've been fed lies and propaganda, from the Arab street, helped by the western left, that America is evil and is only there to kill and steal from them. Yesterday I read that some Iranian Ayatollah was carping about how Bush and America will be brought to justice for what's going on in Iraq, but it looks like the Shiites in Iraq are also getting a bit tired of the extremists. I think they are starting to see that, it's all well & good for the Ayatollah to be waxing lyrical over in the east, but when their women are being beaten back into the kitchen and scumbags are sending bullets & RPGs across the town, it's only Infidels from the west who are around to send a few back at them. I think they also see that the Ayatollah is part of the problem.
American commanders in southern Iraq say Shiite sheiks are showing interest in joining forces with the U.S. military against extremists, in much the same way that Sunni clansmen in the western part of the country have worked with American forces against Al Qaeda. Sheik Majid Tahir al-Magsousi, the leader of the Migasees tribe here in Wasit province, acknowledged tribal leaders have discussed creating a brigade of young men trained by the Americans to bolster local security as well as help patrol the border with Iran.

He also said last week's assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who spearheaded the Sunni uprising against Al Qaeda in Anbar province, only made the Shiite tribal leaders more resolute. "The death of Sheik Abu Risha will not thwart us," he said. "What matters to us is Iraq and its safety." The movement by Shiite clan leaders is still in the early stages but offers the potential to give U.S. and Iraqi forces another tactical advantage in curbing lawlessness in Shiite areas. It also would give the Americans another resource as they beef up their presence on the border with Iran, which the military accuses of arming and training Shiite extremists.

U.S. officers believe last month's fighting among rival Shiite militias during a religious festival in Karbala may have been the last straw. Up to 52 people died in the clashes, which marred what was supposed to be a joyous celebration. Anger also rose after the assassinations of two southern provincial governors that were seen as part of a brutal contest among rival Shiite militias to control parts of Iraq's main oil regions. Source.
Some of you who watched the movie 300 might remember when Leonidas told his second in command, prior to his meeting with Xerxes, he wished they'd be stupid enough to kill him there, because then all of Sparta would rise up in anger. Guess what, Al-Qaeda was stupid enough, this is a golden opportunity, the people in Iraq can see the evil of al-Qaeda and such extremists for themselves and they are pissed off. Now is not the time to be cutting & running, not the time for deadlines and treachery, not the time to cut off funding and to give up and walk away but the time to send help, join forces, take the battle to the enemy, strike while the iron is white-hot.

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