Iraqis Stepping it Up

I read this this morning, and a few things struck me as particularly interesting. First was the young age of the bomber, 13 or 14! I did not know that terrorist groups recruited kids that young. Second, and more profound in my view, is that the local people condemned the act, even burning the house of the family of the bomber. In the 6th paragraph, they quote one of the locals as saying "We will not permit anyone with this ideology to stay in our village." I'm wondering if this viewpoint, an open and violent rejection of radical Islam, is more widespread than reported in the media. Certainly it would help the United States if the locals also took it upon themselves to eradicate radical Islam as they do not benefit from terrorism any more than the US does. I think that they media portrays the Iraqis as not liking the American presence, but I also believe that, as shown in this article and a documentary I recently watched in another class (Frontline: The Insurgency), that Iraqis need the help of the US to fight the terrorist. Iraq would be in a catastrophic state if we weren't there and if we leave too soon. (Yet one more reason not to vote for Hillary Clinton: "I will get the troops out within 60 days of taking the presidency." Yeah right.) However, I do believe that the Iraqis need to start taking more responsibility in their government. The US can not be their crutch. And as this article shows, the Iraqis are sick of terrorism too and are taking matters of destroying terrorism into their own hands, which can only be beneficial for the US.