WASHINGTON POST: UNCERTAINTY IN ANBAR PROVINCE HANDOVER

The media in the United States would leave people to believe it was the United States military which accomplished the turnover of Anbar Province to the Iraqi Security forces.

Nothing could be further from the TRUTH.

To begin with, the U.S. Army didn't kill or capture any insurgents. The Sunni Awakening banded together to rid Anbar Province of the insurgents.

The U.S. military just stood guard while the cleansing took place. You can be sure if the U.S. military were involved there would have been screaming headlines about how many Iraqi insurgents the U.S. military killed or captured, but that was not the case.

The signing ceremony was all a photo-op aimed at making it look like the U.S. military had accomplished some major military victory in Anbar Province.

The future of Anbar Province is shaky at best and it is far too early to tell if the insurgents have been run out of Anbar, or are they just in hiding planning their next attack.

Commentary by BILL CORCORAN, editor of CORKSPHERE

Uncertainty After Anbar Handover
Fate of U.S.-Backed Sunni Fighters Precarious as Government Targets Force's Leaders

By Amit R. PaleyWashington Post Foreign ServiceTuesday, September 2, 2008; A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090100441.html

BAGHDAD, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. military on Monday handed the Iraqi government control of security in Anbar province, the former Sunni insurgency stronghold that is now one of the safest areas in the country.

President Bush and military officials hailed the transfer as a sign of the growing strength of the Iraqi security forces. The United States plans to draw down the 26,000 American troops in Anbar so it can deploy more to Afghanistan, where violence is cresting as security improves in Iraq.

But as Iraqis celebrated the milestone, uncertainty lingered about the future of a linchpin in the effort to secure Anbar and the rest of Iraq: the Awakening movement, a 100,000-person group of former Sunni insurgents who now cooperate with U.S. troops.

The Shiite-led government has recently stepped up a campaign to arrest leaders of the Awakening and dismantle parts of the program, whose members receive $300 a month from the U.S. military. Many fighters have abandoned their posts and fled their homes to avoid detention, stoking fears that some will rejoin the insurgency.

Aides to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki contend that many Awakening members are al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters in disguise. Shiite leaders are also suspicious of armed Sunnis outside their control patrolling the streets. But under heavy U.S. pressure, Maliki has agreed to move at least a fifth into the security forces and train the rest for civilian jobs.

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