Marine Major General Walter E. Gaskin says that between less violence in Anbar, and Iraqi security forces who are ready to take over, Anbar is ready to get handed back to Iraqi control.
So far, half of the 18 Iraqi provinces have gone back to Iraqi control. It's gone slower than President Bush wanted: but it's happening.
The latest province to go back to Iraqi control is where the "Anbar Awakening" happened. I think there's a lesson to be learned here: When people get fed up with a problem, it gets solved. Al Qaeda was certainly a problem in Anbar, and the people got fed up, and - with quite a bit of help - the people of Anbar are getting their province back.
Showing posts with label Anbar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anbar. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Beheading Iraqis: Not Al Qaeda's Brightest Idea
What happens when you try to bomb and behead your way into the hearts and minds of a country?
In the case of Iraq, you get Osama bin Laden criticizing his followers. In a public forum. And, more to the point, a lot of angry, determined, Iraqi sheiks.
Taking a look at what doesn't make the headlines, it's obvious that American leaders and the rest of the coalition have much less time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat than headlines suggest.
The commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team-6, Colonel Richard Simcock, recently said, "... we get all sorts of congressional visitors who are looking for the 'Anbar' story, and let me tell you what I tell them: we are winning, but we have not yet won." [emphasis is mine]
Colonel Simcock made that statement in "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock," on military.com: ("Benefiting the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard").
The Iraq he described, at least Fallujah and the rest of the Anbar Province, is not the bomb-ravaged, fanatic-infested, America-hating, hopeless case that we've heard so much about.
The Iraqis he deals with sound a lot like most of the people I know, here in America:
"Q -- What do the local citizens want -- either from their mayor or from us?
A -- They want the same things in Fallujah as we have in America; health care, education, and technology. They want good schools, markets with food and stuff to buy, along with electricity to run their computers, air conditioners, and businesses."
The assassination of Sheik Sattar Abu Rishi (also Latinized as Sheik Sattar Abu Risha) had an effect: but not the one Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) intended.
Colonel Simcock said, "... they are not intimidated. They saw it as a very tragic event.
"It had the opposite effect that AQI wanted. AQI's message was “Look what happens when you work with the Americans, you wind up dead.” That is not what I am getting from the sheiks that I work with in AO Raleigh, it is just the opposite. They are saddened, but they are angry and makes them work with more energy to get to the same end state that we are trying to reach."
I strongly recommend reading all of "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock." Particularly if you've just heard the latest car bombing scores.
Doing research for this post, I ran into some unfamiliar acronyms used by the American military, and their definitions, from mytroops.com and michaeltotten.com:
In the case of Iraq, you get Osama bin Laden criticizing his followers. In a public forum. And, more to the point, a lot of angry, determined, Iraqi sheiks.
Taking a look at what doesn't make the headlines, it's obvious that American leaders and the rest of the coalition have much less time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat than headlines suggest.
The commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team-6, Colonel Richard Simcock, recently said, "... we get all sorts of congressional visitors who are looking for the 'Anbar' story, and let me tell you what I tell them: we are winning, but we have not yet won." [emphasis is mine]
Colonel Simcock made that statement in "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock," on military.com: ("Benefiting the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard").
The Iraq he described, at least Fallujah and the rest of the Anbar Province, is not the bomb-ravaged, fanatic-infested, America-hating, hopeless case that we've heard so much about.
The Iraqis he deals with sound a lot like most of the people I know, here in America:
"Q -- What do the local citizens want -- either from their mayor or from us?
A -- They want the same things in Fallujah as we have in America; health care, education, and technology. They want good schools, markets with food and stuff to buy, along with electricity to run their computers, air conditioners, and businesses."
The assassination of Sheik Sattar Abu Rishi (also Latinized as Sheik Sattar Abu Risha) had an effect: but not the one Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) intended.
Colonel Simcock said, "... they are not intimidated. They saw it as a very tragic event.
"It had the opposite effect that AQI wanted. AQI's message was “Look what happens when you work with the Americans, you wind up dead.” That is not what I am getting from the sheiks that I work with in AO Raleigh, it is just the opposite. They are saddened, but they are angry and makes them work with more energy to get to the same end state that we are trying to reach."
I strongly recommend reading all of "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock." Particularly if you've just heard the latest car bombing scores.
Doing research for this post, I ran into some unfamiliar acronyms used by the American military, and their definitions, from mytroops.com and michaeltotten.com:
| AQI | Al Qaeda in Iraq |
| AO | Area of Operations |
| IA | Iraqi Army |
| IP | Iraqi Police |
| ISF | Iraqi Security Forces |
| MiTT | Military Transition Team |
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Locals Join American Forces, Purge City of Terrorists
You probably hadn't read that in the news.
But it happened.
Michael Totten, an independent journalist, has had quite a bit to say about the situation in Iraq.
I strongly suggest reading his "Middle East Journal." It's on-the-ground information from the Middle East that you're not likely to find in your paper or on the evening news.
(Excerpts from " Front-line lessons from the Iraq surge")
"In some places, the surge is working remarkably well. In others, it is not. And the only way we will know for sure whether the tide can be turned is to continue the policy and wait.
"I know that's not what many Americans and politicians want to hear, but it's the truth."
"IProgress in Baghdad is real, but it is not, or not yet anyway, the kind of peace that can last.
"It's worse in Mushadah just north of Baghdad, where I also went with American soldiers who are training Iraqi police forces - which have been infiltrated by Al Qaeda. The area is so dangerous that the police refused to leave their station until an American woman, Capt. Maryanne Naro from upstate Fort Drum, showed up and shamed them by going out herself."
"... Elsewhere in Iraq, though, progress is extraordinary and unambiguous. I spent a week in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, which just four months ago was the most violent place in Iraq. Al Qaeda had taken over and ruled the city through a massive murder and intimidation campaign. Even the Marine Corps, arguably the least defeatist institution in America, wrote off Ramadi as irretrievably lost last August.
"Then, local tribal leaders and civilians joined the Americans - and helped purge the city of every last terrorist cell. Violence has dropped to near zero. I have photographs of Iraqis hugging American soldiers and of children greeting us with ecstatic joy, as though they had been rescued from Nazis. The Marines are even considering going on patrols without body armor."
No, I suppose that many politicians would be horrified if news like this leaked out. The masses in America might start thinking that our efforts in Iraq could succeed.
But it happened.
Michael Totten, an independent journalist, has had quite a bit to say about the situation in Iraq.
I strongly suggest reading his "Middle East Journal." It's on-the-ground information from the Middle East that you're not likely to find in your paper or on the evening news.
(Excerpts from " Front-line lessons from the Iraq surge")
"In some places, the surge is working remarkably well. In others, it is not. And the only way we will know for sure whether the tide can be turned is to continue the policy and wait.
"I know that's not what many Americans and politicians want to hear, but it's the truth."
"IProgress in Baghdad is real, but it is not, or not yet anyway, the kind of peace that can last.
"It's worse in Mushadah just north of Baghdad, where I also went with American soldiers who are training Iraqi police forces - which have been infiltrated by Al Qaeda. The area is so dangerous that the police refused to leave their station until an American woman, Capt. Maryanne Naro from upstate Fort Drum, showed up and shamed them by going out herself."
"... Elsewhere in Iraq, though, progress is extraordinary and unambiguous. I spent a week in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, which just four months ago was the most violent place in Iraq. Al Qaeda had taken over and ruled the city through a massive murder and intimidation campaign. Even the Marine Corps, arguably the least defeatist institution in America, wrote off Ramadi as irretrievably lost last August.
"Then, local tribal leaders and civilians joined the Americans - and helped purge the city of every last terrorist cell. Violence has dropped to near zero. I have photographs of Iraqis hugging American soldiers and of children greeting us with ecstatic joy, as though they had been rescued from Nazis. The Marines are even considering going on patrols without body armor."
No, I suppose that many politicians would be horrified if news like this leaked out. The masses in America might start thinking that our efforts in Iraq could succeed.
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