Marine Corps Times On Progress In Al Anbar
Two years after most observers chalked up Anbar province as a lost cause in the face of stiff Sunni resistance, Marine commanders and outside experts say unprecedented progress has been made toward securing the violent region. And the numbers back that up.
Marine leaders pointed to the striking drop in the number of attacks on coalition forces and civilians across the province as proof of this “turnaround,” as the commander of Multi-National Force-West, Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin phrased it in a July 20 Pentagon briefing.
The decision by many Sunni sheikhs in the past year to stem attacks on coalition forces and instead focus their efforts on expelling al-Qaida from the region has been the key to providing more security in the province, said Lt. Col. Michael Manning, the operations officer for Regimental Combat Team 2, and Col. Richard Simcock, commander of Regimental Combat Team 6, during phone interviews from Iraq.
Gaskin referenced the drop in the number of Anbar incidents — defined as small-arms fire, indirect fire, rocket-propelled grenade attacks, and roadside bomb findings and attacks — from 428 during one week in July last year to 98 during that same week this year.
Manning said he has seen the number of incidents in his area of operations near the Syrian border drop from 95 per day to 20 in the past seven months.
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“The decision by many Sunni sheikhs in the past year to stem attacks on coalition forces and instead focus their efforts on expelling al-Qaida from the region has been the key to providing more security in the province, said Lt. Col. Michael Manning, the operations officer for Regimental Combat Team 2, and Col. Richard Simcock, commander of Regimental Combat Team 6, during phone interviews from Iraq.”
And when Al Qaeda’s done for, then what? They return focus on the US troops. We need to get rid of ISLAM. PERIOD.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:09 amThe tactical operation on the ground is turning heads throughout the West. Petraeous is a freaking genious. He’s adapted Mao’s “On Guerilla Warfare” tactics to the modern battlefield. It is a brilliant and so far successful strategy.
However, the government of Iraq is a useless entity. It is infected with Mahdi militia and Iranian influences. It needs to address the needs of all Iraqis not just the shithead Shias in the south.
Maliki has got to go…one way or another. Preferably in an Iraqi coup or some such op…initiated and carried out by Iraqis themselves…The Parliment needs to be replaced by the local tribal leaders too.
When ALL Iraqis are fairly represented and fairly treated, by their government, this war will be won, both on the ground and in Baghdad.
Pay attention to Baghdad Aviator the next time he stops in. He’ll tell you what the Iraqi people want from their government.
Lastly, hoo-ah to the hard-chargers making it happen on the ground.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:41 am