Mario Loyola says
Mario Loyola is a blogger at The Corner. Here’s the start of one of his posts this morning:
Listen, Infidels [Mario Loyola]
I hope the clerics in Pakistan are holding their breath while we quickly remove the Pope in obedience to their commands. It won’t take but a moment. Meanwhile I understand that they have responded favorably to my own demand, namely that they immediately revise the Islamic female dress code, which in its current form is deeply offensive to Latinos and all that we hold dear.
I take that as his attempt to bring a little levity to the situation.
more headlines:
• Indonesian Christians executed (via Persecuted Infidels in Indonesia)
• Noam Chomsky is #1 at Amazon after Hugo Chavez held his book up at the UN. PLUS: Hugo Chavez, one-man Axis of Crazy.
• CDC backs HIV test for all between 13 and 64
• Last chance for Fitzmas about to fade away: Fitzgerald given way out of Libby CIA leak case: Judge says he can dismiss case if classified secrets will be revealed
• Schwarzeneggar gives up Hummers
• Outnumbered and short of food, British troops win six-day battle with Taliban
• India’s Cash-for-Fatwa Scandal
• From the “What is the world coming to?” department: Russians are urged to take the afternoon off, go home and make a baby. This situation can be directly attributed to Russia’s pro-abortion policies, but I’ll leave that commentary to others.
• Noam Chomsky: A Scholar Is Alive, Actually, and Hungry for Debate
• Very interesting piece in StrategyPage (ht instapundit):
Iraqi Tribes Turn on al QaedaSeptember 22, 2006: Coalition forces in Iraq have suddenly received the manpower equivalent of three light infantry divisions. They did not suffer any repercussions in domestic politics as a result, and now have a huge edge over al-Qaeda in al-Anbar province. How did this happen? Tribal leaders in the largely Sunni province on the Syrian border got together and signed an agreement to raise a tribal force of 30,000 fighters to take on foreign fighters and terrorists.
These leaders have thrown in with the central government in Baghdad. This is a decisive blow to al Qaeda, which has been desperately trying to fight off an Iraqi government that is getting stronger by the week. Not only are the 30,000 fighters going to provide more manpower, but these tribal fighters know the province much better than American troops – or the foreign fighters fighting for al Qaeda. Also, this represents just over 80 percent of the tribes in al-Anbar province now backing the government.
The biggest gain for the coalition is that they will now have forces on their side that know the terrain in al Anbar province. This is a very big deal in a campaign against the terrorists. When a force knows the terrain, it can make life miserable for its enemies. Just ask any Army unit that has gone through the National Training Center at Fort Irwin. The OPFOR (Opposing Force) has fought there for so long that they know all the good ambush sites. Units coming there for a training session don’t have that knowledge – and they pay the price in the exercises held there.
This is just one sign that the tide is turning in favor of the coalition in Iraq. Many of the Sunni leaders have decided that the Shia-dominated Iraqi government is not going away any time soon, nor is the democratic process. As such, the tribal leaders have now decided that it is better to be on their good side rather than to be seen as uncooperative. Constant Arab casualties in al Qaeda attacks – and al Qaeda’s desire for a caliphate – have not helped matters any, either.
On the other hand, by signing up with the government, these tribal leaders will hasten the construction of government services, and gain something else just as valuable – the government’s gratitude. In essence, the tribal leaders have slowly been won over by a combination of coalition perseverance and al Qaeda strategic ineptness.
This agreement, if it holds, is a win for the United States, which is looking for measurable progress….
posted Sep 22, 2006, 9:50am by Rodolpho Carrasco
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