Stop the War, I Want to Get Off

Jim Geraghty reports on his new favorite headline from the Financial Times:

Few things have brought a smile to my face like this headline in the Financial Times:

Iraq's insurgents ‘seek exit strategy'

Let me take a moment to stifle the giggles. From the article:

Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, who heads Iraq's main monarchist movement and is in contact with guerrilla leaders, said many insurgents including former officials of the ruling Ba'ath party, army officers, and Islamists have been searching for a way to end their campaign against US troops and Iraqi government forces since the January 30 election.

Insurgent leaders fear coming out into the open to talk for fear of being targeted by US military or Iraqi security forces' raids, he said.

Sharif Ali distinguishes many Sunni insurgents, whom he says took up arms in reaction to the invasive raids in search of Ba'athist leaders and other “humiliations” soon after the 2003 war, from the radical jihadist branch associated with Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Unlike Mr Zarqawi's followers, who are thought to be responsible for the big suicide bomb attacks on Iraqi civilian targets, the other Sunni insurgents are more likely to plant bombs and carry out ambushes against security forces and US troops active near their homes.

Sharif Ali said the success of Iraq's elections dealt the insurgents a demoralising blow, prompting them to consider the need to enter the political process.

It's a quagmire!

Any guesses how some papers will cover this?

"Iraqi insurgents enter depression; grim voices acknowledge disappointing end to once-high hopes of civil war"

That's good news.