BS: Al Anbar Success: Good News at Last?

Subject: RE: BS: Al Anbar Success: Good News at Last?
From: Dickey
Date: 07 May 07 - 01:11 AM

It looks more and more like Iraq will be whacked up into three parts or states. It should have been done in the beginning.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Anbar Success: Good News at Last?
From: Donuel
Date: 06 May 07 - 01:44 PM

ok then lets go home

Subject: BS: Al Anbar Success: Good News at Last?
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 06 May 07 - 01:36 PM

CNN's weekly report on the Iraq War today mentioned a dramatic turn around in Al Anbar Province. This province in Western Iraq is the Sunni heartland, and has been since 2003 the most deadly area for US troops. Bombings and sniper attacks were everyday occurrences, with the US suffering 1/3 of total combat deaths there. Power and water systems were never functional, being sabotaged as soon as they were restored. In 2006, a new man was charged with operations in Al Anbar, Colonel McFarland.

McFarland took a new approach to tactics in Al Anbar. Instead of isolating troops in Forward Operations Bases (FOBs), troops were stationed throughout the province in close proximity to population centers. Men were recruited from Sunni tribes to function as policemen. And, most critically, an agreement was reached with the leaders of these Sunni tribes that allowed them to establish an Al Anbar Defense force, independent of Iraqi National Army control. Sunni tribal leaders, weary of the indiscriminate attacks by Al Qaeda operatives, and anxious for the restoration of basic public services, are co-operating whole heartedly. The result : Services have been restored, attacks against both US Troops and Iraqi citizens have dropped to a small fraction of what was happening in 06, and daily life is returning to a pre-war level of peace and normalcy.

The agreement to allow Sunni tribesmen to set up a defensive force is decision that may bear troubling fruit in the future. This same Al Anbar force could be used against the Shia, but analysts seemed to agree that this possibility was secondary to what is now being accomplished. The success in Al Anbar could be the new model for American attempts to pacify all of Iraq.