The series of operations being conducted in the Anbar province along the Euphrates River must be looked upon not as isolated operations, but part of an overall campaign to wrest the Anbar province from the insurgency and al Qaeda. During a Department of Defense press briefing, General Ham alludes to the existence of the Anbar Campaign. Wretchard astutely picks up General Ham’s cue during a line of questioning on the violence in Haditha.

Reporter: Can you describe like how many forces, what the -- I mean, is this a -- I mean, I understand Operation Sword had been going on and that was completed. I mean, is there a name for this operation? Are there -- is this, you know, running from, you know, Hadithah all the way out to the border? You have a large operation that's going on right now, and can you tell us how many troops are involved?

GEN. HAM: I don't know in their entirety. It's about a battalion strength from Multinational Force Northwest that is assisting in this effort, and they have -- I'm trying to -- at least a battalion strength of Iraqi army with them.

Reporter: This is just in the Hadithah corridor area, or is this going all the way out to the border?

GEN. HAM: This is all the way out to the border.’”

As I stated in June, the series of operations is part of the overall plan to conquer the untamed regions of Iraq that serve as the home of the insurgency and al Qaeda.

The military and political advances since the January election cannot be viewed in isolation, but must be viewed as part of the overall plan to push through the Sunni Triangle and the restive Anbar province and pacify it, either through negotiation or military action. Military operations in Qaim, Haditha, Mosul, Tal Afar and various other towns and cities in the untamed areas of Western Iraq have demonstrated the capacity of Coalition forces to execute large scale missions in areas thought to be untouchable. The insurgency has experienced the unpleasantness of direct military confrontation with US forces, and knows the closest they can come to success is IED or hit-and-run attacks that will not alter the situation on the ground.

The evidence supports the existence of the Anbar Campaign, which technically can be traced back to the assault on Fallujah last November, but did not increase in its intensity until the inception of Operation River Blitz.

Look at the following map and list of major combat operations. Note the increase in tempo in operations, particularly in May with the start of Operation Matador. Matador is immediate followed by Squeeze Play, which occurs in conjunction with New Market and Thunder/Lightning. In mid June, Veterans Forward commences in Tal Afar, which occurs in conjunction with Spear, Dagger and Sword, and immediately followed by Scimitar, Rawah in early/mid July, and Operation Quick Strike at the beginning of August. Each of these operations consist of battalion sized forces or greater, and often were accompanied by Iraqi forces.

The Anbar Campaign

[click map for larger image]