Shoot-out between Saddam’s spy and al-Qaeda brings life back to streets

The Times (London, UK) ^ | November 30, 2007 | James Hider

[CutePuppy]

Believe it or not! A slice of life in Baghdad, and the part our troops do to keep it safe.

[elhombrelibre]

Indigenous wrath against al Qaeda in Iraq ping.

[prophetic]

Another gold nugget of great news you WONT hear from the mainstream media.

[elhombrelibre]

The Times of London is pretty mainstream, and I’d read much of the same story in the Chicago Tribune a few days ago. The New York Times even has had a couple of good stories after years of relentless defeatism. The LA Times did positive story on reopening of some neighborhoods and the return of refugees. So the good news is trickling out after much denial in the MSM. It’s becoming impossible to ignore despite their best efforts when millions of people start returning to Iraq it's hard to hide the obvious improvements.

[geopyg]

“As he turned to run, Mr al-Obeidi emptied his pistol into his back. His assault on al-Qaeda had begun.”

Abu Abed al-Obeidi - a name to remember and a man to honor. One man can make a difference.

---

“I lost most of my family, I haven’t had any rest for a long time. I think I’m done,” he said. “I did a good thing for Iraq. I want to live a normal life now,” he said.

Sounds like the High Plains Drifter....

[Allegra]

Watching the peace come and getting to that point where the media is unable to conceal the progress anymore.

Priceless.

[Paladin2]

Dude in the pic has a serious AK-47. ;-)

[CutePuppy]

And great thanks for your contribution to victory, and updates on real events in Iraq... Sine qua non.

[Tainan]

Put a mans back to the wall when he has a loaded gun in his hand and you get a pretty dangerous man.

This is what, IMO, has to be done. Street by street, district by district. Busted knuckles and bodies in the morning.

[midway]

Quite a story.

Some amazing things are happpening lately and have been happening for months now.

I hope this gets more exposure and of course it’s a shame that the MSM have to be dragged kicking and screaming into reporting some of these transformations.

Is it correct that Osama’s latest is mute re Iraq and shifts the focus to Afghanistan as if there is just nothing he dares say re Iraq?

[Darkwolf377]

Is it just me or does it seem like the Prevailing Wisdom has gone from “We can’t win!” to “Of COURSE things settled down, duh, but what about the political corruption?!” without once touching base on “Bush was right”?

[Wiz]

When he finds his men — only half of whom are paid — occasionally stealing or extorting money, he beats them himself, and has broken his knuckles dispensing rough justice.

No human rights needed for terrorists. Just hang them rusted in wild west style.

[CutePuppy]

They just keep those goal posts moving... And, of course, when that is no longer possible on the situation IN Iraq, there is always a return to “incompetence” - why it took so long, not enough troops, too many casualties because we neglected diplomatic solutions and went in “unilaterally” etc. etc.

Hillary will be pushing “incompetence” angle, as that allows her to triangulate and sound “competent” and like a CIC, while the left wing will always keep the “Iraq = Vietnam” “illegal war” mantra...

[CutePuppy]

Sounds like it - from jveritas:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1932621/posts
“Bin Laden Latest Message: Al Qaeda Giving Up on Iraq and Focusing on Afghanistan”

[Darkwolf377]

That's a good catch--"incompetence" really is the new buzzword.

Oddly, though, I've gotten SLIGHTLY more optimistic about the American people getting it. I saw on the WSJ that a poll shows that those who think things are going well in Iraq has really shot up.

[CutePuppy]

That’s exactly why Hillary shrewdly only dipped her toe into the water of “bring troops home now” movement - just enough to appease her base after 2006 elections and show that she was still one of them.

She’ll leave the Left fringe players to harp on “unjust war” and doing base-building... Clintons always won by attrition (i.e., by raising the negatives of “the other side” and depressing the mood in general to promote electorate’s desire for “change”) while pretending to be flexible and in the middle, except standard New Deal positions...

[Rb ver. 2.0]

It’s no AK-47. Looks like a SAW.

[7thson]

“As he turned to run, Mr al-Obeidi emptied his pistol into his back. His assault on al-Qaeda had begun.”

No matter how many times or how many people insult the cowboy, the western lifestyle, the individual, it always seems to come down to one person making the difference. The collective will lead you over the cliff every time but it is the individual who stands up and chalenges the status quo who is always remembered.

I also learned long ago - when I was a boy - that you can talk and talk and talk all day long against bullies and thugs and it gets you nowhere. Only when you take action - physical, violent action - is when the trouble stops. This is a lesson history shows as the correct course - from the playground to international relations - people have a healthy respect and fear of power. Unfortunately, many more Americans will end up dead - home and abroad - before we unleash our might.

[CutePuppy]

“Cowboy diplomacy” - it works.

[elhombrelibre]

Usually, I take a dim view of men who shoot people in the back, but in a rare case like this I make an exception and say, “Fine shooting, Mr. al-Obidi.”