In an article entitled “US delight as Iraqi rebels turn their guns on al-Qa’eda”, the Telegraph (London) reports that a split is developing between al Qaeda and native Iraqi insurgents:

American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa’eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents.

Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa’eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.

The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code.

[...]

Shops selling music and satellite dishes had been closed. Women were ordered to wear all-enveloping clothing and men forbidden from wearing western clothes.

The native Iraqi insurgency is largely a nationalist movement, mostly remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. They originally accepted support from al Qaeda because they both had a common enemy: the United States.

Throughout the war, towns on Iraq’s western border have been a haven for al Qaeda elements entering through neighboring Syria. Initially, the foreign fighters were welcomed by the Iraqi insurgents. But now, after growing weary of living in al Qaeda’s vision for an Islamist dictatorship, the nationalist insurgents have begun to turn their guns away from the U.S. and towards al Qaeda:

Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May when as many as 50 mortar rounds were fired across the city. But, to the surprise of the American garrison, this time it was not the target.

If a shell landed near the US base, “they’d adjust their fire and not shoot at us”, Lt Col Tim Mundy said. “They shot at each other.”

[...]

Arkan Salim, 56, who left with his wife and four children, said: “We thought they were patriotic. Now we discovered that they are sick and crazy.

“They interfered in everything, even how we raise our children. They turned the city into hell, and we cannot live in it anymore.”

Let’s hope this rift widens. Many native Iraqi insurgents are Sunni Arabs who took up arms in an effort to restore the dictatorship of fellow Sunni Saddam Hussein. The Sunnis, a minority in Iraq, benefitted disproportionately from Hussein’s rule, and therefore may fear diminished status in any representative government. Still, if they come to realize that their role in a democracy will still be more pleasing than subjugation to radical Islam, they may end up embracing the new Iraqi government in an alliance to push out the Islamists.