Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: By ROBERT BURNS
Date: 29 September 2006
WASHINGTON_The insurgency in Iraq's volatile western Anbar province can be
beaten but probably not until after U.S. troops leave the country, the
commander of forces in the provincial capital said Friday.
"An insurgency is a very difficult thing to defeat in a finite period of
time. It takes a lot of persistence _ perseverance is the actual term that
we like to use," Army Col. Sean B. MacFarland, commander of 1st Brigade, 1st
Armored Division, said in a video-teleconference with reporters at the
Pentagon.
"Who knows how long this is going to actually last?" he added. "But if we
get the level of violence down to a point where the Iraqi security forces
are more than capable of dealing with it, the insurgency's days will
eventually come to an end. And they will come to an end at the hands of the
Iraqis, who, by definition, will always be perceived as more legitimate than
an external force like our own."
MacFarland's brigade is fighting in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province,
where the insurgency has become so entrenched and feared by residents that
the city has no Iraqi mayor. Recently, however, the tide has begun to turn
against al-Qaida in Iraq, which has become the dominant anti-government
force, the colonel said.
"It's a situation that's beginning to spiral in our favor," he said.
MacFarland painted a largely upbeat picture of the battle for Ramadi. He
said attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces have dropped from about 20 per
day to about 15 per day, and the attacks have become less effective.
Also, recruiting for the Iraqi security forces has "soared 10-fold," local
Sunni tribal leaders have begun cooperating more against the insurgents, and
the U.S.-equipped Iraqi police are becoming more effective, he said.
On Monday the Defense Department announced that MacFarland's brigade has
been ordered to remain in Anbar for 46 days beyond its previously scheduled
departure in mid-January. That means the nearly 4,000 soldiers there will
exceed the 12-month tour of duty that the Army has said should be the
maximum for all units in Iraq.
MacFarland described his soldiers as disappointed but greeting the news
"with a collective shrug."
Byline: By ROBERT BURNS
Date: 29 September 2006
WASHINGTON_The insurgency in Iraq's volatile western Anbar province can be
beaten but probably not until after U.S. troops leave the country, the
commander of forces in the provincial capital said Friday.
"An insurgency is a very difficult thing to defeat in a finite period of
time. It takes a lot of persistence _ perseverance is the actual term that
we like to use," Army Col. Sean B. MacFarland, commander of 1st Brigade, 1st
Armored Division, said in a video-teleconference with reporters at the
Pentagon.
"Who knows how long this is going to actually last?" he added. "But if we
get the level of violence down to a point where the Iraqi security forces
are more than capable of dealing with it, the insurgency's days will
eventually come to an end. And they will come to an end at the hands of the
Iraqis, who, by definition, will always be perceived as more legitimate than
an external force like our own."
MacFarland's brigade is fighting in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province,
where the insurgency has become so entrenched and feared by residents that
the city has no Iraqi mayor. Recently, however, the tide has begun to turn
against al-Qaida in Iraq, which has become the dominant anti-government
force, the colonel said.
"It's a situation that's beginning to spiral in our favor," he said.
MacFarland painted a largely upbeat picture of the battle for Ramadi. He
said attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces have dropped from about 20 per
day to about 15 per day, and the attacks have become less effective.
Also, recruiting for the Iraqi security forces has "soared 10-fold," local
Sunni tribal leaders have begun cooperating more against the insurgents, and
the U.S.-equipped Iraqi police are becoming more effective, he said.
On Monday the Defense Department announced that MacFarland's brigade has
been ordered to remain in Anbar for 46 days beyond its previously scheduled
departure in mid-January. That means the nearly 4,000 soldiers there will
exceed the 12-month tour of duty that the Army has said should be the
maximum for all units in Iraq.
MacFarland described his soldiers as disappointed but greeting the news
"with a collective shrug."