1 The Long War Journal: The Anbar Campaign Intensifies

Written by Bill Roggio on September 10, 2005 9:01 AM to 1 The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2005/09/the_anbar_campa_1.php

The final assault on Tal Afar has commenced. The joint U.S. and Iraqi strike force has begun searching homes door-to-door after targeted airstrikes in the center of town. It is estimated over one-third of the city has been swept by Coalition forces.

Defense Minister Dulaimi said the operation in Tal Afar was planned several months ago. He also states that Tal Afar is the Iraqi Army's first true test in combat in an urban environment, and but the first of such operations; "[Tal Afar] is a good experiment for the Iraqi forces. It is an urban warfare experiment. And we are going to carry out such operations in any Iraqi city that does not abide by the rules of law."

The cities and towns along the Euphrates ratline are specifically singled out for future attention; "We tell our people in Ramadi, Samarra, Rawah and Qaim that we are coming  There will be no refuge for the terrorists, criminals and bloodsuckers."

While the operations in Tal Afar continue, the Coalition continues the press the attack in the Qaim region. An airstike is conducted in the town of Ubaydi, and a senior al Qaeda leader, known as "Sheik", is believed to have been killed. According to CENTCOM; "Sheik has been known to have extensive connections throughout the Middle East to include Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Syria. From those countries his connections recruited and financed foreign fighters who were later smuggled into Iraq, usually through Syria, and subsequently delivered to various terrorist groups in western Iraq."

The Anbar Campaign is escalating. The assault on Tal Afar and attacks in and around Qaim are merely the prelude to further operations along the Euphrates River and in northern Iraq. One month ago I stated the following:

Fifteen battalions are coming online, and while their deployment locations are not specified, their likely destinations are Ninewah and Anbar. Couple this with the freed US units due to Iraqi forces taking charge of security in less active areas, and a dramatic increase in Coalition forces to tackle the insurgency along the Euphrates River looks to be on the near horizon. Think late summer or early fall.

The Coalition wisely chose later summer to begin the offensive, giving them six weks to establish order prior to the October 15th referrendum on the constitution.

While there has been much disparaging of the efforts to train and equip the Iraqi forces to enter the fight, the Coalition continues to push forward in establishing a capable Iraqi Army. The Iraqi Army may not be "fully operational", but they are still an effective fighting force when working in conjuction with U.S. forces.

This has been stated several time in the past, but it bears repeating: the Iraqi Army has yet to meet it is full potential, and even so progress is being made in Anbar and Ninewah. When the Iraqi Army fully comes online within the next two years, as is estimated by many experts, the insurgency will be pushed further to the outlying areas of Iraq, and forced to go underground. Or they can abondon the fight and enter the political process. Either option points to defeat in Iraq for al Qaeda.