Michael Yon has a must-read piece in today’s Journal. He makes a lot of interesting observations based on the unprecedented amount of time he’s spent in Iraq reporting on the war, but I think most important is this:
The left has long ridiculed the members of the Anbar Awakening as mere mercenaries, fighting for the insurgency and al Qaeda first before being offered better pay by the U.S. military. Yon doesn’t see it that way. In fact, he says that “powerful tribes in Anbar province cooperate with us now because they came to see al Qaeda for what it is–and to see Americans for what we truly are.” It’s definitely worth reading the whole thing. Even soldiers who’ve been in Iraq for a full 15-month tour are unlikely to have the perspective that Yon does if only because Yon is able to cover the whole country. If he says there has been a dramatic turnaround…it’s hard to argue with it. And of course, buy the book, Moment of Truth.
