The News behind al-Zarqawi’s Death

The relentless assault of the so-called “mainstream media” against continued U.S. involvement in Iraq, an assault that is in synch with the growing call by many within the Democratic Party for an immediate troop withdrawal, has succeeded in demoralizing a substantial portion of the American public. In my view, the premise behind the media campaign – that the United States is losing the effort – could not be more wrong. Despite the continuing violence, there has been growing evidence for some time now that the “tipping point” has been reached among Sunni Arabs, that portion of the Iraqi population largely responsible for supporting, condoning or at least turning a blind eye to the insurgency. Significant portions of the Sunni leadership have concluded that they have more to gain from democracy than they do from a reversion to authoritarian rule (which has traditionally meant Sunni rule). The death of al-Zarqawi adds further evidence of this. It appears that Sunni informants provided the key information, and they did so within days of al-Zarqawi having called upon Sunnis to slaughter Shiites.

To put it simply, the insurgency can not survive if Sunnis turn against it. It is time for the media to uncover the real story in all of this: the Sunnis are beginning to conclude that violence is not the best means to achieve their ends. That is good news.