Dems’ Nightmare: Anbar Awakening Leaders Heading To U.S.
RAMADI, Iraq - Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, who took over as leader of anti-al-Qaida Sunni tribes after his brother was assassinated, said he will leave Thursday for a two-week trip to the United States.
Abu Risha’s younger brother, Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, was largely credited with bringing a measure of peace to Iraq’s vast and western Anbar province by uniting tribal forces and siding with the U.S. military against the terror network. The Sunni stronghold, which shares borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, was among the most violent in Iraq a year ago.
The Anbar Awakening Council founder was killed Sept. 13 in a bombing, just 10 days after he met with U.S. President George W. Bush in Anbar. Bush hailed the Sunni leader’s courage and pledged to help rebuild the province.
Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, who took over the movement, told The Associated Press in an interview this week that he will leave Thursday and will visit Vermont, New York, Texas and Washington, D.C., where he hopes to meet Bush, although his itinerary was not fully determined.
“I will not come back to Anbar if I don’t meet with President Bush. If he doesn’t meet with me, I’ll go to the Democrats and see what they have to say,” he said, laughing.
The sheik said he wanted to learn how individual states work within the larger U.S. federal system. He hoped to attract investors to Anbar to provide jobs.
“We defeated al-Qaida, but what then? People need jobs,” said Sameer Rashid, Abu Risha’s assistant and translator.
Abu Risha said he will visit the 1st Battalion, 172nd Armor Division of the Vermont Army National Guard, a unit he befriended when they were stationed in Ramadi from July 2005 until June 2006. He also will stop at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, the nation’s first private military college.
Abu Risha will travel with Maamoun Sami Rashid, the governor of Anbar.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad confirmed that Iraqi officials from Anbar were traveling to the United States as part of an international visitor’s program, which aims to increase mutual understanding.
Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said the delegates would meet with state and local leaders as well as hold meetings on the national level. But she declined to give more details about the trip or confirm the identities of the travelers.
(AP)
VP Hashemi meets Anbar province delegation
Anbar, Oct 26, (VOI) – Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi discussed with a delegation representing al-Anbar the security, economic and service conditions in the Sunni province ahead of the delegation’s departure to the United States, according to a press release by Hashemi’s office.
“Hashemi received in his office in Baghdad on Thursday evening a delegation from Anbar that comprised Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, the head of the Anbar Awakening Council, Sami al-Ulwani, the Anbar governor, Abdul-Salam al-Aani, the provincial council chief, and the mayor of al-Ramadi,” read the release received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on Friday.
The release did not set a date for the Anbar delegation’s visit to the United States.
Hashemi stressed the importance of “building on the triumph realized in the province by giving special interest to the service-related aspects.”
“It is of grave importance that the ordinary citizens in Anbar would taste the value of peace by upgrading the standards of living and developing the basic services that still face problems,” Hashemi was quoted in the release as saying.
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Cool!!! I can’t wait to see him trying to get a meeting with some of the Dimmicrats like Pelosi, Clinton, etc.
It should be great.
October 26th, 2007 at 3:59 amWelcome to America is all i can say
anyone who fights Al Qaeda in Iraq is cool with me. These people started the revolution that has helped us bring that country into relative peace for the past 2 weeks
October 26th, 2007 at 4:31 amThe MSM will be all over this story, how the ’surge’ has worked to calm down Iraq so that the elected government and citizens can move the country forward to find life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How alqueeeeda has been defeated and run out of the country. How the Iraqi’s want to come to America to learn how a free nation succeeds.
brian williams will open with this, I am sure
October 26th, 2007 at 4:44 amThat’s the smartest idea that I’ve heard yet from an Iraqi leader. Come to America and see how things get done…state to state and state to Fed. Outfreaking-standing. This guy has some serious political acumen. I even liked the Bush comment:
“I will not come back to Anbar if I don’t meet with President Bush. If he doesn’t meet with me, I’ll go to the Democrats and see what they have to say,” he said, laughing.
This is the kind of politician that Iraq needs more of. Put out the welcome mat and leave the porch light on for him.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:11 amIt will be a major challenge for the lefties to spin this visit to the negative, but I believe they will make jackasses of themselves trying.
I wonder if the little bitch Harry Reid will try to horn in like with Rush’s letter deal.
More of this before ‘08 could help sink the d-rats. Fucking retards.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:36 amHere is a classic example of lefty spin. The glass is always half empty.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1675623,00.html
October 26th, 2007 at 6:47 amPat,
Maybe we can get DollardNation behind an effort to help the Anbar economy. I’d certainly love to have one of those cool 50 ft. banners of Sheik Abdul-Sattar. Maybe fly it from my roof on the anniversary of his death. Get people asking about it to help inform those outside the well-informed DNation. Or maybe you could use your military contacts to get an industrious Anbari’s T-shirt business up and going by making some cool tees with Sattar’s pic on them available on your site next to the Jihadi Killer classic. I’d certainly buy one with his face on it and maybe with some cool Arabic script proclaiming the beginning of the end for AQ. Again this could serves as a conversation piece to begin to inform an otherwise clueless populace.
Thanks for the great site, and keep up the good work.
Mr. Big
October 26th, 2007 at 7:27 amAnother example of how one single person can have more intestinal fortitude than the entire Dumocrat party. This guy deserves support, encouragement, and media exposure.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:12 amI can’t wait to hear some sound bites fromt his trip, finally some tangible evidenve here at home that things are better and Iraqi’s want to work to make things better.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:22 amA Sattar Abu Risha t-shirt would kick ass. It’d be a nice counter to all the damned Che t-shirts I see around campus.
October 26th, 2007 at 10:31 am““I will not come back to Anbar if I don’t meet with President Bush. If he doesn’t meet with me, I’ll go to the Democrats and see what they have to say,” he said, laughing.”
What a great sense of humor.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:37 amZach;
October 26th, 2007 at 11:54 amMake your own. I saw a report of one that had the hammer & sickle over “100,000,000 dead, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” over a picture of Che.
I’ll bet the MSM doesn’t even cover this, just like yesterday, CNN website didn’t even mention Pres. Bush was in Calif. visiting fire areas. By the way, he was arm in arm with Sen. Feinstein, so you think they might have covered it. Instead, they had a wrongful imprisonment case from GA as their headlline, and today they have another GA “wrongful” imprisonment case as their headline. I guess the template for this week is the GA justice system.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:46 pmI think it noteworthy that his first choice is the Republican administration. He must already know the demos are assholes.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:04 pmNice to see Sheik Sattar being honored.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:26 pmThis will see no coverage from the MSM. You are absolutely correct on this prediction.
October 26th, 2007 at 7:31 pmOh yeah, it’s going to be very interesting to see how the Dems and the MSM handle this brouhaha. And for two weeks, no less. I wonder if he’ll meet with Arnold. Can you imagine watching this guy sitting between Hannity and Colmes? Can’t wait for the pictures of Harry Reid grimacing while he shakes his hand. Or Pelosi tripping on her high heels as she runs away.
And by the way, why has there been a media blackout on such a big deal visit from a whole delegation of these guys?
O’Reilly is right. CNN = Corrupt News Network.
October 26th, 2007 at 7:52 pmWe should organize some kind of huge celebration/event for them.
What better way to slap the libtards in the face than a huge meeting of American conservatives and free Iraqis celebrating victory over Al-Qaeda?
October 27th, 2007 at 11:16 am