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Iraq

Iraqi army takes over from US in Anbar

2006-06-07

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi army division has taken over from US forces in patrolling an area in Anbar province, the US military said on Tuesday, the first transfer on that level in the western heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency.

The 1st Iraqi Army Division officially assumed control of territory near the town of Habbaniya on June 2, between the towns of Ramadi and Falluja, it said in a statement. The Iraqi unit is now responsible for planning and executing their own operations in Habbaniya, the statement said, without specifying the size of the area. But US-led forces would continue to help with medical evacuation and fire support, it added.

It was the first division-level transfer of territory in Anbar, the statement said, adding that four Iraqi brigades and nine Iraqi battalions are also assigned territory there. This transfer is another step to a free Iraq, said US Lieutenant-Colonel Loris Lepri. The Iraqi unit in Habbaniya would continue to work with US-led teams in charge of training and mentoring Iraqi forces, the military statement said.

Posted by:Steve White

#5 Considering what has happened in Iraq in just three years is pretty impressive to me.
I mean you compare any kind of liberation in history and you look at Iraq and you have to say it's pretty darn amazing.

To have rebuilt a military capability that resembles you more than the history of that military capability seems pretty amazing.

To me this seems amazingly impressive. Should get a mention. I am not even hearing any of this on some conservative radio shows...so maybe it does not mean poo. But it's good news regardless.

Posted by: long hair republican 2006-06-07 23:15

#4 the headline made me think the Iraqi army was taking over all of Anbar, which would have been big news.

But thats not whats happening. The US is still in charge in Ramadi, and the US is still in charge in Falujaj (AFAIK) the Iraqi 1sr Div is in charge of the rural area in between.

Which points up to the ambiguity in a divisional area of control. A US division in Iraq gets a whole province. An Iraqi division, apparently,gets a small fraction of a province.

A step in the right direction, but not all that big a step.

Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-06-07 13:28

#3 I read this in the New York Times. O.K. No I didn't. I will though if it goes bad.

Posted by: Mike N. 2006-06-07 12:58

#2 In military terms, this is very important; though its importance is being missed by the MSM and hopefully the other ME countries.

The most any other country in that region can muster as an effective unit is a Brigade-sized element. And even though they organize their Brigades into Divisions, that is strictly a paper organization, without effective Divisional operations.

This is a very important distinction, as a Division trained in Division operations can defeat two or three times as many independent Brigades, all else being equal. That is, five Brigades in an effective Division can beat fifteen Brigades operating on their own.

And the US has been quietly training the Iraqis at Divisional operations for two years now. We started with the light infantry Divisions, then last year we are "heavying" them up with a mechanized Division.

We are also beating into their thick skulls the critical importance of support and logistics Divisions, also a rarity in the ME, along with specialized support organic Brigades.

By putting the 1st Iraqi ID in charge of the hottest of the hot sectors in Anbar, it is really going to give them an acid test to eliminate anybody who can't cut it from the organization.

Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-06-07 12:18

#1 So why is this in the Khaleej Times and notsome US rag?

Oh, nevermind.....

Posted by: Bobby 2006-06-07 06:54

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