BACKFIRE

OK, the Anbar Awakening is the single greatest reason Al Qaida is on the ropes in Iraq. People have warned that these Sunni groups are still hostile to the mostly Shiite central government and once Al Qaida is beaten back, will turn around and attack Shiites. Spencer Ackerman links to reports in the NY Times and the WaPo that further confirms this warning. I especially liked this excerpt from the WaPo:

The target appeared to be the headquarters of Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman, a leader of the Awakening movement.

In an interview an hour after the blasts, Suleiman said he was enraged that the U.S. military was not doing more to protect the Awakening fighters. The explosion, which destroyed much of his compound, killed or injured several of Suleiman's guards but left him with only minor wounds from flying glass.

"Where is the support of the Americans for us? They put us in this dilemma and now they are doing nothing for us," said Suleiman, who is also prince of the Dulaimis, one of the largest tribes in Iraq. "If they don't do something about this, then we may decide to withdraw our forces from the streets."

"Tell Bush: Great work," he added sarcastically.

Perhaps worse than hostility toward the central government and the U.S., the Christian Science Monitor reports there is the possibility of internecine warfare among the Sunnis:

The greatest enemy of the relatively young Sahwa movement may be growing and bitter rivalries from within.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Abdul-Sattar's brother and successor, Sheikh Ahmed, huddled in Anbar Province's capital, Ramadi, with other chieftains poised to announce a new party, "Sahwat al-Iraq" (Iraq's Awakening).

Notably absent from Tuesday's meeting was Sheikh Hatem, who regards himself as the rightful chief of Sahwa. He has assailed Hashemi for trying to hijack the movement to serve what he calls the IIP's corrupt goals in Anbar. He has even accused the party of maintaining links to Al Qaeda.