Could it be that U.S. troop presence in Iraq is fueling unnecessary violence and if they left, that aspect of the violence would subside? Anbar Province offer clues for a U.S. exit: leave it to the Iraqis to rid their country of al-Qaeda.
More below the fold
If the following McClatchy report is correct, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq may solve the problem Bush continues to cite as the reason for continuing the occupation:
Anbar a bright spot in turbulent Iraq
By Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Ali Hatam Ali al Suleiman sat in a high-backed leather chair in his Baghdad office, proud of what the Anbar Salvation Council has done. The council, a group of leaders from the Dulaim tribe, Iraq's largest, is driving the al-Qaida in Iraq group from what had been sanctuary in Anbar province.
<...>
"The service we are providing is fighting al-Qaida and militias with no mercy," he said. "They corrupted our religion; they misinterpreted our values. We are Iraqis - not Sunnis and Shiites. We don't threaten to bomb and to kill; all we wanted was our dignity and to live."
<...>
"The Americans were not truly working in Anbar," he said. "We asked them to clean their hands of al-Qaida and we will drive them out."
The effort has been largely successful, said Suleiman, an elegant young sheik of 34. Life in Ramadi, the provincial capital, is reviving. Residents have cell phone service. Schools and hospitals are opening.
"We did in three months what they couldn't do in four years," he said, referring to U.S. troops. "We are not fighting al-Qaida for the sake of the Americans. We are fighting them to rid ourselves of this shame."
link
The Anbar Salvation Council:
- is driving the al-Qaida in Iraq group from Anbar province;
- claims American efforts were not working;
- asked the U.S to leave it to them; and
- accomplished in three months what Americans couldn’t do in four year.
Today, the U.S. commander in northern Iraq called for more troops saying the Iraqi government officials are not moving fast enough. This obviously proves that Bush's escalation of the war, 21,000 troops for Baghdad and Anbar province, isn’t really the solution. Basically, Bush is sending five extra brigades into an area to be targets for more violence. Iraqis want their country back. The U.S. should comply: set a deadline, speed up training of Iraqi troops and withdraw U.S. combat forces. Where did I hear that before? Hint: June 22, 2006.
Some Iraqi politicians aren’t ready to give up the U.S. military crutch, but it appears the Iraqis are.