Possibilites for Anbar

You don’t hear much about Anbar Province anymore. That’s because this area, once the scene of the heaviest fighting in Iraq, has turned remarkably quiet of late. Attacks are down 80 percent since last year. If there is any cause for optimism in Iraq this is it: If an area as troubled as Anbar could be turned around so quickly, then no part of Iraq can truly be said to be hopeless.



Rock of the Marne!John W. CharltonCOL, Infantry Commanding CampAr Ramadi, Iraq

Security here in Ramadi continues to improve as the Iraqi police and army forces work daily to keep the population safe. When we arrived in February, we were averaging 30 – 35 attacks per day in our area of responsibility. Now our average is one attack per day or less. We had an entire week with no attacks in our area and have a total of over 65 days with no attacks. I attribute this success to our close relationship with the Iraqi security forces and the support those forces receive from the civilian population. The Iraqi police and army forces have uncovered hundreds of munitions caches and get intelligence tips from the local population every day. Our biggest challenge with the Iraqi police is getting them fully equipped, paid, and consolidated in police stations. The support system that begins with the MOI [Ministry of the Interior], and extends through the provincial police chief, is still a work in progress. As a result, the Iraqi police still rely heavily on coalition logistics and support. We expect the equipment issue to improve soon, and we are working hard to get their logistics and command and control systems in place. One thing that is not lacking is the courage and the dedication of the Iraqi police in al Anbar. For them, this fight is personal. They know that al Qaeda is targeting them, their families and their tribes. Some of our most recent successes have been in the areas of reconstruction and governance. The city government didn’t exist before April of this year, but has grown steadily over the past few months, and is now providing essential services to the population. In areas that were battlefields only a few months ago, city electrical employees are now repairing transformers and power lines. Sanitation workers are fixing sewer leaks caused by hundreds of buried IED’s [improvised explosive devices]. The Iraqis now have repaired the electrical grid in about 80 percent of the city and about 50 percent of the rubble has been removed. We expect to have all rubble removed in the next 90 – 120 days, which will allow for many parts of the city to start rebuilding.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/contentions/index.php/boot/657




That is amazing! And it gets even better if you keep on reading. Now even assuming Anbar dosen't get much better then this in terms of violence and insurgent activity. It would still be one of the most peacefull provinces in Iraq. Assuming reconstruction and security efforts progress more. I think Anbar could easily be transferred to Provincial Iraqi Control by December or January. Furthermore, 4000 marines were deployed to Anbar as part of the surge. Once it reaches Provincial Iraqi Control, those 4,000 marines could be withdrawn from the country or transferred to Baghdad, Diyala, Qaudisiyah or Salluh Ad Din provinces if needed. A combat force of 4000 marines can do a lot. As recently shown in Anbar. Anbar could also be a great testing place for solar power in Iraq. Its a peacefull province as of now, it has plenty of isolated villages. Those villages could be great places for solar power, since it would take the construction of miles and miles of transmission lines to provide them with power from the central grid. Another great thing is their power would not be as vunerable to insurgent attacks.