Pat Lang posts a fascinating narrative from a retired senior Army intel officer regarding his dealings with tribal sheiks in Anbar province in December 2003 and January 2004. Essentially, the officer relates that the tribes in Anbar province wanted to ally with the Americans in fighting against al Qaeda at that point, but a plan the Army intel officer drew up was killed for a variety of bureaucratic reasons. He concludes by noting that “[w]ith or without our support, they wanted to do this — they did not want AQ in there screwing up their areas and their lives.”

Worth keeping in mind the next time the president insinuates that if we leave Iraq al Qaeda is going to take over.