Iraq’s Anbar Province Faces Political, Military Changes

RAY SUAREZ:

Just months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Anbar province became a hotbed of Sunni insurgent activity. The mostly Sunni province in western Iraq, Anbar accounts for 30 percent of Iraq's land mass. It borders Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The hotspot towns of Ramadi, Haditha and Fallujah are all in Anbar, as is much of the area known as the Sunni triangle. It's not densely populated, home to just 1.25 million Iraqis. But outside of Baghdad, the area has posed the greatest challenges to U.S. forces in Iraq, especially after al-Qaida in Iraq began using the province as a staging area.

Since the war began, nearly 1,300 Americans have died in Anbar, more than in any other province. In Fallujah in March 2004, four American contractors were ambushed, killed and burned. Local Iraqis cheered as their bodies were hung from a bridge.

U.S. forces laid siege to the city twice to root out both Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida operatives who had effectively taken over the town. Efforts to stabilize and rebuild the city continue.

U.S. forces have fought numerous and intense battles in Ramadi, but in past weeks, President Bush and top military commanders in Iraq have said the tide is turning in Anbar and have touted it as a success.

GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: Our new strategy is designed to take advantage of new opportunities to partner with local tribes to go after al-Qaida in places like Anbar, which has been the home base of al-Qaida in Iraq.

LT. GEN. RAY ODIERNO, U.S. Army:

In May, the attacks in Anbar in 2006 totaled 811. In 2007, they were just barely over 400. In Ramadi in 2006, there were 254 attacks in the city of Ramadi; in 2007, there have been 30.

RAY SUAREZ:

And as part of the administration's surge strategy in Iraq, some 5,000 additional U.S. troops are being sent to Anbar province.