In death, Abu Risha could rally Iraqis

The assassination of Sunni Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi, also known as Abu Risha, is a whodunit and might remain so. But those who are crowing over the death of an "American ally" have overlooked that Iraqis greatly need their own heroes at this time. Abu Risha was first and foremost an Iraqi ally. His murderers have created a martyr whose influence in Iraq transcends tribe, ethnicity, and sect.

In a startling development, the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr strongly condemned the murder:

“Abu Risha was a man who proved that terrorism can be fought and security can be restored even in the most volatile area in Iraq,” said Sheikh Saleh al-Obeidi, al-Sadr’s spokesman in the holy city of Najaf.(1)

It is notable that Al Jazeera and (Saudi-owned) Al Arabiya TV have avoided calling Abu Risha a martyr, but the sheikh is well on his way into Iraq's history books as a martyr for Iraqi freedom and unity. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, called Abu Risha a martyr. And Maliki's national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, who attended the funeral, observed:

“It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history,” Mr Rubaie told the mourners gathered at the sheikh’s house. “We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."(1)

Iraq's (Kurdish) President, Jalal Talabani, also cited heroism:

Abu Risha's name will be remembered in the pages of Iraqi history alongside the names of those who led the 1920s revolt against British forces, the 1958 coup against the Iraqi monarchy, and "the blessed uprisings against tyranny and oppression."(2)

In death, Abu Risha may do even more for the cause of Iraqi reconciliation than his Awakening did against al Qaeda. Abu Risha wasn't content to run al Qaeda out of Anbar; he was undertaking an ambitious program to free all Iraqis from al Qaeda's oppression:

Most recently, he had sent his men into western neighborhoods of Baghdad that had been taken over by extremists.

“These Qaeda fighters started even to force some families to marry their young daughters to the fighters, otherwise they would kill the entire family,” said Manal Imad, 27, a university student who lives in the far western Baghdad neighborhood of Amariya. “When Abu Risha sent his men to our neighborhood, everyone here welcomed them.”

The extremists had required that women going outside their houses wear long robes and completely cover their hair, Ms. Imad said. Several months ago, she said, not wearing a head scarf “could be fatal to me and to my entire family.”

“Now the neighborhood is very stable and most of the shops are open again. And even girls feel safer wearing what they used to wear during the normal day.”(3)

1) The (London) Times Online

2) Iraq Slogger

3) The New York Times