I am amazed that the Iraqis, in now two provinces, who had previously been aligned with al Qaeda have had the majority of tribes shift to our side and raise troops to fight with us. I know that al Qaeda instituted harsh Sharia Law in these areas and killed many who protested, but we have given the tribes and the Iraqi people mixed political messages about how much we will support them. From milblogs and others interviews, it appears that now that we are out from behind the wire, the people actually believe we are there to protect them. Unfortunately, we gave the same message to the South Vietnamese about supporting them and did for over two years after we withdrew our combat troops. They were winning but congress abandoned them militarily and economically in 1975. I fear a repeat of this shortly after January 20th, 2009 if not sooner.
