Counterpoint - Iraq

While the mainstream media focuses on the deadlock with the Iraqi constitution and Cindy Propaganda, there are some interesting developments happening that bely many of the opposition's memes. U.S. warplanes led by Sunni tribal militias, go on the offensive against al-Qaeda:

The clashes between Sunni Arab tribes and insurgents, coupled with growing vows from Iraq's Sunni minority to turn out in force for upcoming national elections, in a small and localized way meet one of the strongest U.S. hopes for defusing the insurgency. U.S. military leaders have repeatedly expressed the hope that public anger at insurgent violence would deprive insurgents of their Sunni base of support, and that the disaffected Sunni minority would look instead to the political process to defend their rights.

A tribal leader near the Syrian border, Sheikh Muhammed Mahallawi, said his Albu Mahal tribe opened the latest fighting against Zarqawi's insurgents after the foreign-led militants kidnapped and killed 31 members of his tribe to punish them for joining Iraqi security forces.

"We decided -- either we force them out of the city or we kill them," with the support of U.S. bombing, Mahallawi said by telephone.

Speaking of the political process, here is what a leading Sunni is saying about the new constitution:

In Baghdad, a Sunni Arab critic of the draft charter appeared alongside U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to say Sunnis should resolve their objections to the charter peacefully. "We believe the best way to solve problems is through elections," Adnan Salman Dulaimy told reporters at a Green Zone news conference.

Dulaimy pledged to work on defeating the draft charter in the Oct. 15 vote.

"On federalism, we reject it because it will lead to tearing up the country," Dulaimy said. "We call on all Iraqis for unity, solidarity, closing of ranks to confront those who want to undermine the unity of Iraq. No to sectarianism, no to federalism."

Iraq, being an extremely complicated place, also has reports of this:

On Tuesday, hundreds of Sunnis rallied outside Ramadi to denounce the proposed constitution, The Associated Press reported. Protesters carried posters of Saddam Hussein, newly re-emerged in recent days as a public icon in the ferment over the constitution. "No to federalism, no to dividing Iraq," the slogan on one banner declared.

Political violence Tuesday included the fatal shootings of two police colonels in Baghdad and in Kirkuk, and a suicide car-bombing that killed two police officers in the northern city of Samarra.

In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, government security forces late Tuesday announced a closing off of entrances to the town, apparently to block a religious pilgrimage announced by a popular Shiite militia and political leader, Moqtada Sadr.

Again, the story I have been trying to present in Iraq is one of a battle between those who want freedom versus those that want to suppress it, whether they be Baathists, al-Qaeda or Iranian backed Shiite militias. But it is clear there is a tension within each of these subgroups about which direction the country is headed. Those that choose to remain violent still have the news cameras, while sharing a common taste for blood, but it seems as if the moderates are willing to stand up and make a fight of it. These people have always been fighting, its just that their fight doesn't materialize in the form of car bombs blowing up children in broad daylight. Their fight has mainly been one of organizing, and learning how to operate within a highly corrupt political process. Now, they are going to try and convince the majority of Iraqis (Kurds, Sunni and Shiites) that their vision for a unified and peaceful Iraq is the way to the best future. These groups may not be united on all fronts, but there does seem to be a significant movement of Iraqis that want to use the political process, and not the suicide bomber, to solve their differences.

The United States is not going anywhere and will try to help them get there. Sometimes it is going to come in the form of moral support, while other times it will come in the form of a couple of JDAMs coming through the roof of a jihadi stronghold. In either case, it is undeniable that there is a sizable portion of the country across each sub-ethnic/sub-religious group that is fighting for a peaceful Iraq.

Also, it looks like Al-Qaeda has overstayed their welcome.