Anbar Province Security To Be Taken Over By Iraqi Forces

Reuters reports that the U.S. military is transfering control of security in Anbar Province to Iraqi forces as of this week. The governor of the region Mamun Sami Rasheed pointed out that this was a remarkable turnaround given that the region was considered lost to insurgents less than two years ago and said that Iraqis "have been dreaming of this event since 2003." Since the beginning of the invasion Anbar will become the 10th of 18 Iraqi provinces to return to Iraqi control. Major General John Kelly of the Marines who is the U.S. commander of forces in western Iraq called the Anbar Province turnover "an important milestone" that "changes the nature of our security relationship here." Kelly said it "it represents is the improving capability of Iraqi security forces to deal with the threat" and that "one of the significant aspects of this turnover is that it occurs in a province that was all but written off." Tribal leaders began siding with U.S. in late 2006 and what Al-Qaeda once considered its main base of operations in Iraq has since been done away with. Anbar was the scene of the most bloody battles of the war, including the assualt on Fallujah in 2004. What was once called the "Triangle of Death," a nickname for the Sunni Triangle, is becoming more secure as Iraqis begin to control their own areas. This amazing upcoming success has not yet been reported by our media to any large extent. It should be.


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