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WASHINGTON D.C. (February 14, 2008) - Al Qaeda has worn out its
welcome with Sunni residents of western Iraq's Anbar province and,
consequently, the terror group's influence there is over for good,
the Marine Corps' most senior officer said here today.
The Sunnis became disgusted with al Qaeda's brutal methods and
backward ideology, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway
said at a breakfast event at the National Press Club hosted by
Government Executive Magazine
Determined to rid themselves of al Qaeda, Sunni leaders in Anbar
province formed concerned local citizens' groups that attacked
terrorists at every turn, Conway said.
During his most recent visit to Iraq in November, Conway
recalled, Sunni leaders told him that Anbar province had reached a
"post-hostilities" phase.
"They are convinced that the al Qaeda, in particular, and the
Sunni insurgents are not coming back," Conway said. "They have
entered a blood feud with the al Qaeda (terrorists)."
Anbar province's Sunnis found nothing to admire about al Qaeda's
"15th-century law," Conway said, which involved suppression of
individual rights, beatings and beheadings. There also were forced
marriages between al Qaeda foreign-born fighters and local Sunni
women, he said.
The Sunnis "recoiled from all of that" and began to ally
themselves with coalition and Iraqi government forces, Conway
explained.
Anbar's Sunnis also know that al Qaeda would extract bloody
revenge against those who'd collaborated with U.S. and Iraqi
government forces, Conway added.
"They can't let (al Qaeda) back in," the general said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Marines in Iraq have been busy patrolling and
training members of the Iraqi army.
"We are pretty proud of those (Iraqi soldiers) we train out
there," Conway said.
He added that when properly equipped and led by good Iraqi
officers and noncommissioned officers, the Iraqi troops "do pretty
well in the field."
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