Good News from Iraq

There’s finally some truly good news in Iraq, which may make the conflict “winnable” for the US in the long-term. The terrorist organization Al Qaeda in Iraq, run by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, may have finally overplayed its hand. Recent attacks, including the Jordanian hotel bombing, may be shifting public sentiment against the Al Qaeda aspect of the insurgency. As the group loses its support, it also loses the war on the critical moral level, which is fundamental for sustaining a long-term asymmetrical war. If the US can, one way or another, exploit this division, there is the potential for the US to achieve the primary goal of not enabling Iraq to become a new hotbed of jihad.