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View Full Version : Transfer of Security to Iraqi Forces in Anbar Province



red states rule
09-02-2008, 07:08 AM
More good news from Iraq that the liberal media will try to ignore

Has anyone told Obama about this?


US forces to transfer control of Anbar to Iraqis
August 28, 2008, 6:20 am

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region.

"We believe the province could turn over to Iraqi control in just a few days," Marine General James Conway said.

"The change in the Al-Anbar province is real and perceptible," Conway said of the majority-Sunni region, which is Iraq 's largest province.

"Anbar remains a dangerous place, but the ever growing ability of the Iraqi security forces continues to move us closer to seeing Iraqi control of the province," the general said.

He expressed the hope that the handover of the Anbar province to Iraqi control will allow the Pentagon to redeploy troops elsewhere.

"More US forces are needed in Afghanistan ," he said. "However, in order to do more in Afghanistan , our Marines have got to see relief elsewhere."

"They are doing a very good job of this nation-building business," in Anbar, but "25,000 Marines in the province are probably being in excess of the need, especially after Iraqi provincial control assumes responsibilities for security," Conway added.

"It's our view that if there is a stiffer fight going someplace else, in a much more expeditionary environment where the Marine air-ground task force really seems to have a true and enduring value, then that's where we need to be," he said about Afghanistan .

The once-restive Anbar province in western Iraq is home to former flashpoint cities of Ramadi and Fallujah , where deadly clashes between insurgents and US forces often roiled after the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein .

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/4969934/forces-transfer-control-anbar-iraqis