U.S. To Hand Over Security In Anbar To The Iraqis

The New York Times:

BAGHDAD -- The American military will hand over responsibility for the security of Anbar Province, once a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency and one of the most violent regions in Iraq, to the Iraqi government as early as Monday, Iraqi and American officials said Wednesday.

The transfer would be a milestone for American officials, who have said that reduced violence in Anbar, a western province, shows that a partnership there with the local forces known as Awakening Councils has been successful.

The transfer would also be the first in a province bordering Baghdad, where there has been intense sectarian conflict. Other provinces that have been shifted to Iraqi control have been in the less troublesome south and in the northern Kurdish region.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[genseric13]

A hard fought victory, congratulations Senator McCain and our glorious military.

[Berettasskeeter]

Wonderful news! This indicates that the governments, both US and Iraqi, and the military forces of both, think Anbar is sufficiently pacified, and Iraqi forces are prepared, to go it alone. As always, my hat is off to our GI's and to Bush's team.
Semper fi

[Harod]

wow i thought this is what everybody wanted, the iraqi's taking over control of thier country and every one is still complaining..

[AzRealProgressive]

You have to understand the rules. If the lemming crowd gets news they don't like, the rules change. you would have thought your point would be celebrated everywhere.

[Podewumun]

Predominantly Sunni.
Let the "ethnic cleansing" begin.
Pontias Bush washes his hands of Anbar.

[riverhippie]

So are you suggesting we should never leave? Or did you support Obama's plan to unilaterally leave when the Iraqis needed us most?

[fishsandwichesr2good]

Iraqi security forces stand up. US forces stand down. Gee, where did I hear that plan before?

This is clearly bad news for all the huffnuts who are so deeply committed to defeat in Iraq.

[fishsandwichesr2good]

Let me know if you have any trouble finding links to videos of Hussein's henchmen throwing political prisoners off of buildings in Iraq.

[OkieMon]

the surge in oil to 150 dollars a barrel rather than the surge in US military troops worked....it got the factions to say to each other "why are we killing each other?"....we are all millionaires!".

[AzRealProgressive]

Only a certified genius would come to that conclusion.

[08politicaljunkie]

There's no oil in Anbar.

See bottom of page 3: http://www.iraqrevenuewatch.org/reports/052706.pdf

[OkieMon]

yeah like all that iraqi oil money is going to go into the US treasury......

[Honza]

US to hand over security? you mean we got rid of all the bad guys? Were they good Iraqis or bad Iraqis? Why not just turn over all the American weapons, tanks, hummers, choppers,ect., and get Maliki to draft about a half million into his so called police force? We need our throops home to keep our borders and America safe from the taliban plotters.

[AzRealProgressive]

Bad guy is a generic term that incorporates anyone in the insurgency attempting to kill US troops. All of the American equipment you speak of will probably next see service in Afghanistan against Taliban, and foreign fighters. They made the mistake of fighting us on their turf, and using up all of their assets.

[GravitonX]

US forces never could hold Anbar province. This was a wise decision. It was a breeding ground for an endless parade of Sunni insurgents. Time for Bush McCain to retreat, all the way back to Texas.

[AzRealProgressive]

They not only held it, they pacified it, and kicked out the insurgents.

[All57States]

Someone please inform Harry Reid. He said we lost the war last year.

[Lemmy]

Nancy too! Keep espousing those San Francisco values!

[Freetoast]

So it looks like the bush administration is beginning their surrender march. They have been an absolute disgrace to our country and the greatest danger America has ever faced. Nothing can replace the lost and ruined lives caused by these monsters, but a fair trial and fitting punishment will help deter future sociopaths and begin to repair our relationship with the rest of the world. God bless America and President Obama, may they both live up to the hype!

[JoeBlough]

But Cheney said they volunteered.

[danoj]

I think yoiu guys are going to be very dissapointed when O takes office and maintanes current Iraq and middle east policy.

[drgrph]

It appears to me that Bush/McCain have once again proven to be right. Thank God we had leadership with good judgment and the commitment to see our soldiers succeed. They clearly understood the most important lesson of Vietnam - let the generals run the war and not Congress.

At last night's convention it was hyperbole to suggest that this has been our "worst" war. I would put forward the premise that Vietnam, with Democrat escalation, was our "worst" war. Check the memorial - there are far, far more names on the walls than there ever will be for Iraq. And for what? Was there anything accomplished? Last I checked the Communists won and several dominoes (Cambodia, Laos) fell resulting in the killing fields.

At least we were able to remove a dictator and his sons (his likely successors). Was it worth it? Only history will tell. With the recent attempts of Russia to reconstitute the Soviet Republic we can see that it takes decades to even begin to fairly assess history.

[innerpeace]

You're uninformed­.Bush/McCa­in did not listen to the military and did not give the military the number of troops it originally requested and did not add more troops until it became obvious, to even a child, that more troops would be needed.Their ignorance made the war go on for much longer than it needed to.

[adamsmith]

And you were sitting where? On Bush's left or right while military planning was being done? I'm glad we have a general here at Huffpo to let us know how it should be done.

[usakaput]

is this satire?

[AzRealProgressive]

To you it is. Anything other than an american hating far left screaming weenie post is satire to you.

[hydenorhare]

Under the original Obamacles' plan surrender would have occurred last March.
Now the Obama bin Biden marriage is anxious to claim Iraq success for themselves.
Amazing brass.

[MourningDude]

On the nose.

[innerpeace]

No one to surrender to.Saddam is dead,Get informed.

[MacDad]

biden was wrong on the persion gulf war: voted against; wrong on the iraq war: voted for; wrong on how to deal with iraq when things were gettting ugly (the surge): voted against - suddenly he is the right guy to fill in the foriegn policy hole in BO's resume??

[fishsandwichesr2good]

Biden's judgement is always wrong. Not to worry though -- he makes up for it in volume.

[JoeBlough]

Surrender to who? Who will sit down on the other side of the table and sign the Articles of Surrender?
They have no Leader, they have no Army, they have no Country. We are shooting at an ever changing group of people.

We can’t win and we can’t lose. All we can do is to shoot at them until we get tired of the killing or we run out of money.
When we come home, we will neither have won nor lost. We will only be poorer and the subject of World scorn. America has lost its center.

[AzRealProgressive]

That is far from the truth. By any definition we have turned that war around and won. By your definition of winning we lost or did not win WW2 because even today there are Nazitypes still around. Before you said all was lost and we should get out, now we can;t win and we can't lose. that is talking out both sides of your mouth.

[gcallaghan]

What a coincidenc­e....handi­ng it over on the day the RNC convention starts...wonder how many US troops died while they stalled this.

[neocon43]

I doubt if general Petraius is watchinh politics!

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

is this good news, I cant tell from the commets?

[meanguy]

it depends on the polls...if mccain's numbers go up, it's a 'bad thing'...haven't the bots sent you the guidelines? ask volvo or IQ of sevenkevin­...they'll share!