Bush in Iraq and other good news ....

The President made a surprise visit to Iraq, his third. How he kept it a secret I will never know. I am sure the mainstream media is crying in it's latte having blown the opportunity to let the Islamazis know his whereabouts and when. Surely Daily KOS is excoriating it's secet naval mole.

Meanwhile the people of Iraq (even the tribals) are rising up against Al Qaeda. Small Wars Journal has a great piece;

ANATOMY OF A TRIBAL REVOLT SWJ

Some aspects of the war in Iraq are hard to fit into “classical” models of insurgency. One of these is the growing tribal uprising against al Qa’ida, which could transform the war in ways not factored into neat “benchmarks” developed many months ago and thousands of miles away. I spent time out on the ground during May and June working with coalition units, tribal leaders and fighters engaged in the uprising, so I felt a few field observations might be of interest to the Small Wars community. I apologize in advance for the epic length of this post, but it's a complex issue, so I hope people will forgive my long-windedness. Like much else, it’s too early to know how this new development will play out. But surprisingly (surprising to me, anyway), indications so far are relatively positive.

To understand what follows, you need to realize that Iraqi tribes are not somehow separate, out in the desert, or remote: rather, they are powerful interest groups that permeate Iraqi society. More than 85% of Iraqis claim some form of tribal affiliation; tribal identity is a parallel, informal but powerful sphere of influence in the community. Iraqi tribal leaders represent a competing power center, and the tribes themselves are a parallel hierarchy that overlaps with formal government structures and political allegiances. Most Iraqis wear their tribal selves beside other strands of identity (religious, ethnic, regional, socio-economic) that interact in complex ways, rendering meaningless the facile division into Sunni, Shi’a and Kurdish groups that distant observers sometimes perceive. The reality of Iraqi national character is much more complex than that, and tribal identity plays an extremely important part in it, even for urbanized Iraqis. Thus the tribal revolt is not some remote riot on a reservation: it’s a major social movement that could significantly influence most Iraqis where they live.

More here. Really worth your time. And check out this good news.

Good news, but not for Democrats Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe. I expect the defeatocrats will have work double time to defeat the US now.

UPDATE: Excerpt from W's speech today to the troops in Anbar: hat tip Irwin

"When we begin to draw down troops from Iraq, it will be from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure. To do otherwise would embolden our enemies and make it more likely that they would attack us at home. If we let our enemies back us out of Iraq, we will more likely face them in America. If we don't want to hear their footsteps back home, we have to keep them on their heels over here. And that's exactly what you're doing, and America is safer for it."

Want more? Good stuff. Stop the ACLU has the video here.

UPDATE: IRaq Surge Report September 4th: Download IraqSurgeReport3September.doc