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| Iraq |
| Anbar Awakens Part II: Hell is Over |
| 2007-09-18 |
| Michael J. Totten In early 2007 Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar Province, was one of the most violent war-torn cities on Earth. By late spring it was the safest major city in Iraq outside Kurdistan. . . . It is not, however, completely secured yet. “Al Qaeda lost their capital,” Major Lee Peters said, “and the one city that was called the worst in the world. It was their Stalingrad. And they want to come back.” In July and again in August they did try to retake it and lost pitched battles on the shores of Lake Habbaniya and Donkey Island just on the outskirts. They destroyed a bridge over the Euphrates River leading into the city with a dump truck bomb. Four other bridges in Anbar Province were also destroyed in acts of revenge in the countryside by those who no longer have refuge in cities. And just last week Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha, the leader of the indigenous Anbar Salvation Council that declared Al Qaeda the enemy, was assassinated by a roadside bomb near his house. That murder can’t undo the changes in the hearts and minds of the locals. If anything, assassinating a well-respected leader who is widely seen as a savior will only further harden Anbaris against the rough men who would rule them. “All the tribes agreed to fight al Qaeda until the last child in Anbar,” the Sheikh’s brother Ahmed told a Reuters reporter. . . . “It was nothing we did,” said Marine Lieutenant Colonel Drew Crane who was visiting for the day from Fallujah. “The people here just couldn’t take it anymore.” What he said next surprised me even more than what I was seeing. “You know what I like most about this place?” he said. “What’s that?” I said. “We don’t need to wear body armor or helmets,” he said. I was poleaxed. Without even realizing it, I had taken off my body armor and helmet. I took my gear off as casually as I do when I take it off after returning to the safety of the base after patrolling. We were not in the safety of the base and the wire. We were safe because we were in Ramadi. . . . Go read it all. Michael Totten is the best reporter in Iraq who isn't named "Michael Yon." |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #6 My e-mail to W, two senators, and my congressman, all with one click or th mouse at Congress.org: I noticed earlier in the week that Senator Reid still considers the war lost, and is hoping to get more Republican backing for the Webb Amendment. Purportedly to give the troops equal time off following deployments, it is just a thinly disguised vehicle to bring the troops home as soon as possible. Isn’t it odd, Senator, that the President has changed Defense Secretaries, Generals, troop levels, strategies, and tactics, yet the Democrats still keep playing the same old broken record about how ‘nothing has changed’. For the moment, let us assume everything negative said about the war thus far is true, every word. What do we do now? Did you read Dr. Kissinger’s opinion in the Washington Post last Sunday? He said early withdrawal would be disastrous for the U.S. and urged politicians to put the war above politics. I’d settle for that. I read today about the biggest change since 2006, when Anbar Province was called “lost’ by the Marines on the ground in Iraq. The words were frequently printed in the press at the time, but you don’t see that anymore. In Ramadi, once the most violent city in the violent Sunni Triangle, U.S. troops do not wear body armor or helmets. Michael Totten reported that from Ramadi, where he, too, was reporting without body armor. You, or at least one member of your staff, might want to read it at -http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001517.html – but let me quote you my favorite part: “We hand out care packages from the U.S. to Iraqis now that the area has been cleared of terrorists,” one Marine told me. “When we tell them that some of these packages aren’t from the military or the government, that they were donated by average American citizens in places like Kansas, people choke up and sometimes even cry. They just can’t comprehend it. It is so different from the lies they were told about us and how we’re supposed to be evil.” Nothing has changed, Senator? Having finished reading Totten’s story, I believe it is the best news out of Iraq since the people of Baghdad tore down the statue of Saddam in 2003, and my son helped bring it about. He helped set the stage for the current “awakening” by showing Iraqis in Anbar that Marines were not evil in 2004. Don’t give the enemy any reasons for hope, Senator. Withdraw the Webb amendment. Consider how al Qaeda killed its enemies in Ramadi, according to the Totten story, and remember they want to come here after they drive us out of Iraq. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-09-18 18:39 |
| #5 OT: average American citizens in places like Kansas Hell Kansas and Iowa always get to be the damn average Americans. I'm tempted to call the Mullet Muster and show serious averageness. |
| Posted by: Thomas Woof 2007-09-18 18:30 |
| #4 Anbar Awakens, slightly off topic Yes as our success grows and spreads in Iraq, once brutal AOs are now so changed that some of the Marine's and Army's rules about wearing body armor including the Kevlar Lid have been subject to change, way relaxed. All good stuff, but we must be vigilant for the Quds Forces, al-Qaeda and the un-surrendered old Army Baathists that have proven they can put a professional plan together and have the funding to pull it off. I'm sure they've love to pull off a spectacular Kidnap OP against our Armed Forces, Diplo Folks, Civilians and/or the Coalition. [diplos..eh.. lets use 'em, like the Canaries in the Coal Mine, or better still as BAIT!] Ima sure these security concerns are drilled into the Soldiers and Marines, we probably already have a tune up program but it may require some new thinking out of the BOX! /Heavyweight Rocking Chair Tactician and Strategery |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-09-18 16:51 |
| #3 “We hand out care packages from the U.S. to Iraqis now that the area has been cleared of terrorists,” one Marine told me. “When we tell them that some of these packages aren’t from the military or the government, that they were donated by average American citizens in places like Kansas, people choke up and sometimes even cry. They just can’t comprehend it. It is so different from the lies they were told about us and how we’re supposed to be evil.” If I read that again, I'm going to choke up! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-09-18 15:52 |
| #2 A critical, vital piece of information that will truly tell us the end is near is when we hear that Sunnis who left Iraq, those that can, are returning. This will mean that they have word from their kin that it is safe to return, that prosperity is increasing so that there is a reason to return, and that the bad Sunnis living in other nations are soon to be deprived of a Sunni expat community to feed from and hide among. Certainly some bad apples will try to return with the rest, but they will probably be either quickly picked up, or be in deep trouble because they no longer have power, or protection from their enemies. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-09-18 13:53 |
| #1 The reason Yon and Totten are so good at what they do is because they *get off their asses* and go to the hot spots. They don't confine themselves to the Palestine Hotel in the Green Zone sipping martinis and plagerizing everyone elses storyline. They continue to carry on the "war correspondent" tradition of Ernie Pyle, Bill Mauldin and Edgar Rice Burroughs. God bless both, keep them safe and give them every opportunity to report the facts, just the facts and be on the side of honor, duty and country. Hit the tip jar while there. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-09-18 10:59 |