Sunnis battling Al Qaeda

But before you get too excited by the media presentation of the Sunnis in Amariyah fighting Al Qaeda, put this in a little context. (WaPo)

Abdul Khaliq said he hoped U.S. forces would stay out of the fight. "But if the Americans interfere, it will blow up, because they are the enemy of us both, and we will unite against them and stop fighting each other," he said.

Or maybe you prefer the NYTimes version,

Witnesses and an Interior Ministry official said the battle reflected a fight for control that began three weeks ago after the two groups met and could not agree on a strategy for resistance to American troops.

Look. If Al Qaeda in Iraq were minimized that would be an unquestionably good thing, but trumpeting this as victory is remarkably simplistic.

The Sunni insurgent groups initially embraced Al Qaeda in Iraq because they needed them. Now, the Sunnis have reached a point where they are capable enough to fight and supply themselves without Al Qaeda in Iraq.

(On the plus side, the local Iraqi Sunni groups are far more likely to be reached through negotiations as they have a longer term interests. See post below.)

Later: (NYTimes) "It remained unclear whether the fighting was driven by differing ideologies and broad objections to Al Qaeda’s tactics, or was merely a battle for control in Amariyah."