Insurgents are having a change of heart: they’ve been "fighting the wrong enemy."

There seems to be a paradigm shift occurring in Iraq, which is under-reported and under appreciated. This started with the four month grid lock to select a leadership in the Iraqi government being overcome by negotiations and compromise, and has now continued through the peaceful negotiations by Iraqi insurgent groups, leading Iraqi clerics, and the Iraqi government.

Upon Secretary Rumsfeld’s return from an impromptu visit to Iraq, he was interviewed by radio talk show host, Laura Ingram where he stated that the progress in Iraq was happening more than he appreciated from Washington DC.

"I met with the advisors to the Ministry of Interior and the Iraqi Minister of Defense and the progress they're making there is notably faster and better than I had appreciated from Washington."

In the interview with Laura Ingram, Secretary Rumsfeld applauded the announcement of the top leadership for the Iraqi government as well as the support from the local leading clerics of the Iraqi people.

"It is an historic event for the Iraqi people to vote and then for a new government to be formed with the top seven officials announced. The meetings we had with them could not have been better. One listens to their comments and you can't help but come away encouraged that they understand the importance of having a unified government; of governing from the center; of having non-sectarian ministers administer the government on behalf of the Iraqi people. The recent remarks by Sistani against militias and the government's announcement that they intend to address the militia issue. It is clearly an encouraging time in Iraq and it's important that it be noted."

Couple Secretary Rumsfeld’s assessment of the progress in Iraq with the news being reported from the office of the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani stating that President Talabani has been meeting with seven armed groups in hopes of agreeing to a deal to include them in Iraq's political process. The spokesperson for the Iraqi President’s office stated:

"These groups who are holding talks with the president are those who believe in a prosperous Iraq. Their will to fight America has waned,"

According to a CNN report,

'a source close to the Iraqi President said the meetings have been under way for some time.
The groups are realizing that Americans are not their true enemy, the source said, and that they have been "fighting the wrong enemy."
"[These groups] are coming to the realization that one day the Americans will leave -- and that the most important thing is an Iraq that is free from Iranian influence," the source added.'

One should ask, how does this progress and new leadership affect the terror operatives for Al Qaeda in Iraq? Well it marginalizes the Al Qaeda terrorist and places them at odds with all that the Iraqi people are striving for; …. Peace.
According to a statement released shortly after al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi released a tape condemning the US and the Iraqi government, the President of Iraq declared al-Zarqawi an enemy of the Iraqi people.

"Al-Zarqawi has launched a genocide against the Iraqi people, branding the Shi'ites as rawafidh [rejectionists], the Kurds as traitors, and the Sunni Arabs as renegades…The Iraqi people hate his brutal crimes and he is now isolated,"
"The best way to deal with the al-Zarqawi phenomenon is through national reconciliation and restoring security and stability,"

Progress in Iraq continues despite the main stream media’s attention being focused on anything but success in Iraq. If projections by the US commander in Iraq, General George Casey hold true; the US forces will be reduced by 30,000 by the end of the year bringing the total force in Iraq equal to the number of forces we have in Germany (100,000). This reduction would highlight the continued progress in Iraq and the overall success of the Iraqi campaign.

Mike DiBartolo