Ther are a couple long-ish but interesting articles today that are worth reading.
First, is is this article on the decline of al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups aroung the world. The US and plenty of other nations have been putting a serious hurt not only on the terrorist organizations but also on the ideology of the Islamists. The article doesn’t take us out of the woods quite yet but it does show fairly convincingly that we have done well to fight Islamism into dwindling relevancy.
Second, is this story of the man who led the Anbar Awakening in Iraq. His name is Sheikh Ahmad al-Rishawi and his brother actually began the fight against al-Qaeda and the Islamist forces in Iraq. After his brothers’ assassination, he took up the banner and helped break the back of the al-Qaeda forces who were trying to cajole and indimidate the tribes onto their side. He since has studied what has happened in both his native country and Afghanistan and has volunteered to help work with the Afghans to do the same to the Islamists there that he did in Iraq. He has met with American military and political leaders and he has ideas that should be taken very seriously.
The past two years have been momentous years for the side of freedom and enlightenment. These articles show just how far we’ve come and just how much thanks we owe President Bush for his stubbornness and vision.
Tags: Fighting the Islamists
