Sunni Sheik on meeting GWB

Excerpts from Eli Lake’s NY Sun article on Sheik Ahmad al-Rishawi today.

“Al Qaeda is an ideology,” Sheik Ahmad said. “We can defeat them inside Iraq and we can defeat them in any country.” The tribal leader arrived in Washington last week. All of his meetings, including an audience with President Bush, have been closed to the public, in part because the Anbari sheiks, while likely to win future electoral contests, are not themselves part of Iraq’s elected government.

Of his meeting with Mr. Bush, Sheik Ahmad said he was impressed. “He is a brave man. He is also a wise man. He is taking care of the country’s future, the United States‘ future. He is also taking care of the Iraqi people, the ordinary people in Iraq. He wants to accomplish success in Iraq.”

When asked if he would send military advisors to Afghanistan to assist US troops, he said… “I have no problem with this; if they ask me, I will do it.”

And that is the stuff that makes up an Arab ally…