US military to hand back Sunni bastion of Anbar to Iraq

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military is to hand over security control of the former Sunni insurgent bastion of Anbar province to Iraqi forces in the next 10 days, a US military spokesman announced on Monday.

"The handover of Anbar is expected to take place in the next 10 days," Lieutenant David Russell told AFP, declining to provide an exact date.

Anbar would be the tenth of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed back to Iraqi forces by the US-led coalition amid a push to transfer security control of the entire country back to Baghdad.

Anbar province in western Iraq, the country's largest, was the epicentre of a brutal Sunni Arab-led fight against the US military after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

In the early years of the insurgency, US forces fought raging battles in the province, especially in the capital Ramadi and the nearby city of Fallujah.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080623/pl_afp/iraqunrestusanbar

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Here, you take it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Or, what's left of Anbar province ......

[Arctic Dave]

2. The US is really sucking up to the Sunnis before the election.

Why would this be? Would anyone care to comment?

[PugNot]

3. I dont see it as "sucking up"

as much as doing their best to keep the Sunni's on baord.

This is good news. Just read roadside bombings down 90% and the Iraqi govt is staring to assert itself by reigning in the militias. If this trend continues Obama may be able to pull out the troops without the place going to hell afterall.

[Arctic Dave]

4. If you mean counter Iranian influence by "keeping Sunnis on board"

Basically the US has finally realised that destroying the Sunni resistance (for purpose of countering Al Q)they were giving Iran a magic lamp and having all their wishes come true.

[stillcool]

5. I don't know how anyone..

can possibly have a clear picture of what is going on in Iraq...other than the fact that the U.S. needs control and has no intention of leaving. I am really surprised that the Iraqi government has held out as long as it has. How many more bombs can it possibly take?

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/irqindx.htm

[Arctic Dave]

6. I think the unofficial prognosis is FUBAR.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by the US "needs" control but the US is most likely not really concerned if the Iraqis have a blossoming democracy or another brutal dictatorship as long as the spoils are ours.

Edit: Interesting link. Thanks for including.

[stillcool]

7. control is the point isn't it?

a

Source : Eric Waddell, The Battle for Oil, Global Research, 2003


http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/intervention/2007/0701worldwide.htm

[Arctic Dave]

8. That would seem to be their game plan.

Kill a few hundred thousand (give or take) destroy a region but what the hell we got the oil. Now, as far as the how long it will last is another story. I'm sure their are other people interested in this region too that are not going to just let it be burglarized, unless they get some of the loot too. I haven't seen who gets to develop the fields yet but that may be an indicator of who was bought off with the spoils. Isn't imperialism fun!