Blackout of the Press about Iraq Blackout of the Press about Iraq

New York Sun article: Blackout of the Press points out that the MSM, led by its competitor, the NYT, is ignoring the changes that have happened in the Sunni portion of the insurgency in Iraq. Apparently, al Qaeda has acceded supremecy to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State of Iraq, a new umbrella organization of what appear to be Sunni insurgent groups. And al-Baghdadi conveniently is of the tribe of Quraish, a usual prerequisite for a would-be caliph. I like this:

Al-Baghdadi says that his Dignity Plan is supposed to counter President Bush's "surge" and that it will only end when Mr. Bush signs a treaty of surrender. And what would this surrender look like? Al-Baghdadi spelled out the terms in an earlier speech: "We order you to withdraw your forces immediately. But the withdrawal must be via troop transport trucks and passenger planes whereby each soldier is allowed to carry his own weapon only. They may not withdraw any of the heavy military equipment and the military bases must be handed over to the mujaheddin of the Islamic State and the duration of the withdrawal may not exceed a month."

I wonder what the Iraqi Shia and Kurds think about a new Sunni Arab Caliphate in Iraq? My guess is that they aren't all that excited about it. Last estimate I saw showed the Iraqi security forces outnumbering the Sunni Arab insurgents in Iraq, whatever they currently call themselves, at least ten to one. Probably a lot more than that.