Tribal chiefs in Iraq's western Anbar province and in an area near the northern city of Kirkuk, two regions teeming with insurgents, are vowing to strike back at al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni Arab-led group that is waging war against Sunni tribal leaders who are cooperating with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military. Anbar tribes have formed a militia that has killed 20 insurgents from al-Qaeda in Iraq, leaders said.
They have good reason to feel the need to protect themselves:
First [Al Qaeda] killed the chief of the Naim tribe and his son. Then they killed a top tribal sheik who headed the Fallujah city council. Then they assassinated the leader of the al-Jubur tribe...members of the Anbar militia said the group comprised about 100 people who have had relatives slain by al-Qaeda in Iraq.
A purported member of Zarqawi's forces offered this response:
A fighter in Zarqawi's group, calling himself Abu Azzam, said the al-Anbar Revolutionaries "are collaborators and dogs for America. They kill the mujaheddin to get money from the American crusaders. They are cowards and we have killed a lot of them. . . . All the people here support us and our jihad against the Americans and their followers."
Zarqawi appears gradually to be losing his base of support among those Sunnis sympathetic to the insurgents. While most of Zarqawi's attacks have been aimed at Shiites and government employees, it would appear his groups has overstepped its boundaries by attacking powerful Sunnis who now will return the favor in kind. Whatever else, this is still a positive development. The Sunnis of Anbar won't rush to join American forces in rebuilding Iraq just because they've had it with Zarqawi, but we're in no position to refuse any help we can get in eliminating him, and their turning against Zarqawi may distract them from attacks on our soldiers and Iraqi forces. Right now, we'll take what we can get.
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