Anbar “Turnaround” Undercuts War Rationale

[babylonsister]

Anbar “Turnaround” Undercuts War Rationale
by Gareth Porter

WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (IPS) - In hailing what he has called an “almost breathtaking” turnaround in Anbar Province that has weakened al Qaeda as a triumph for his new military strategy in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus has put a favourable spin on a development which actually challenges the central rationale for continued U.S. military occupation of Iraq.0810 03

The dramatic change in Anbar, in which Sunnis have replaced U.S. forces and largely Shiite troops in providing security against al Qaeda, is likely to be a primary theme in Petraeus’s report on the surge next month. It has also become the favourite theme of war supporters, from right-wing columnist Charles Krauthammer to the duo of Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack.

But the new situation in Anbar cannot be attributed to U.S. military operations or presence in the province. After five years of unsuccessful U.S. military operations in Anbar, the U.S. military’s agreements with Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar represents an acknowledgment that it was dependent on the very Sunni insurgents it once considered the enemy in Iraq to reduce al Qaeda influence in the province.

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/10/3104/

[Sapere aude]

1. So if we don't need to be there why are we there? Three litters - OIL!