https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2007/11/01/audio-michael-yon-on-the-defeat-of-al-qaeda-in-iraq/feed/HotAir is the leading conservative blog for breaking news and commentary covering the Biden administration, politics, media, culture, and current elections.en-usThu, 23 Apr 2026 12:42:52 -0400<![CDATA[Live from south Baghdad via yesterday&#8217;s John Gibson radio show. Consider it a companion piece to the dispatch linked round the world this morning. The assessment comes not from Yon himself but from a leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party he spoke with; we&#8217;ve heard rumblings lately that the military agrees but is understandably paranoid about declaring victory over AQI prematurely and having another &#8220;Mission Accomplished&#8221; fiasco on its hands. The most interesting tidbit here is his claim that Al Qaeda&#8217;s adapting its strategy of encouraging civil war from the national Sunni/Shiite level to a provincial inter-tribal level, doubtless to create some breathing space for itself by fracturing the coalitions (especially in Anbar) against them. That was surely one of the goals in killing Abu Risha, the leader of the Anbar awakening. Sounds like it hasn&#8217;t worked. Takeaway: &#8220;Even if their own sons support Al Qaeda, they will kill them.&#8221;]]>Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:05:15 -0400<![CDATA[Allahpundit]]>https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2007/11/01/audio-michael-yon-on-the-defeat-of-al-qaeda-in-iraq-n150761