Don’t quit; momentum is behind U.S. in Iraq

By KEVIN FERRIS

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

When Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was assassinated Sept. 13 in Ramadi, there were fears that the movement he led to fight al-Qaeda in Anbar province and beyond would stall.

The Washington Post quoted one store owner as saying, “Now, we’re afraid that the black days of al-Qaeda will return to our city.”

Had those fears been realized — if al-Qaeda had the upper hand, if U.S. casualties and enemy attacks had increased since September — one could almost understand Democrats in Washington this week calling for yet another date for surrender. But, once again, they’re wrong.

In fact, al-Qaeda is on the run. Casualties and attacks are down. The surge is working, and the movement Sheikh Sattar helped lead is gaining momentum.

Army Col. John Charlton met the sheikh in January, when, as commander of the First Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division, he arrived in Ramadi. With Charlton’s base just across the road from Sattar’s compound, the two were together often, making plans for reconstruction, the defeat of al-Qaeda, and stronger security forces.

“The biggest contribution from the sheikh was that he was a powerful motivator to get young Anbari men to join the police and the army,” Charlton says.

That additional manpower, and this year’s change in strategy by coalition forces, meant that territory taken from terrorists could be held and the population better protected.

Those efforts have borne fruit.

“He’s recognized as a true hero who sacrificed his life to bring Iraq together,” Charlton says of Sheikh Sattar.

Parade of evidence

Charlton points to last month’s rally and parade on Ramadi’s main street. Hundreds marched, many with banners of the slain sheikh.

A central government that once ignored Anbar sent representatives. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts marched down a street once pockmarked with IED craters. Where soldiers once dodged sniper fire, a “fun run” was held.

Charlton calls the change in Ramadi “remarkable.”

In the city and surrounding areas, attacks have gone from about 30 a day, Charlton says, to “essentially zero.”

“We haven’t had an attack in the city in weeks,” he says. “We’ve gone 175 days with zero attacks in my area.”

Last year during Ramadan, there were more than 400 attacks. This year, he says, there were almost none.

There hasn’t been an IED blast or mortar fire in the city in months, he says. In the last eight weeks, there have been no coalition casualties, a dramatic change from Charlton’s first month in command, when 12 soldiers and Marines were killed.

On the reconstruction side, Marine Maj. Leland Suttee spends his days meeting with the city’s electricity and trash “leaders,” noting sewer backups and water-main leaks, and working with the mayor.

“When we talk to the average Ramadi citizen, we hear some common themes: electricity, water, trash service and jobs,” he writes in an e-mail. “In a counterinsurgency fight, the focus is on the people. Since this is what they are talking about, it is also what we focus on.”

Help is arriving

The central government is starting to step up, with Suttee reporting the recent arrival of 20 truckloads of electricity equipment. Charlton adds that about $45 million was received from Baghdad this summer for projects.

“That’s a good start,” he says, “but not nearly enough. Triple that, and you still have a lot that needs to be done.”

During a recent lobbying trip to Washington, Ahmed Abu Risha, who took over the movement after his brother’s murder, said this of Anbar: “We united, and that’s why we obtained victory.”

The rest of Iraq can’t boast as much progress and certainly not victory. Plenty of hard fighting continues. But reports from military bloggers to the New York Times show that, nationwide, attacks, bombings and U.S. casualties are down. That doesn’t mean the war is over — or won. And Charlton certainly isn’t declaring victory.

“We’re always cautious because al-Qaeda will never give up on al-Anbar,” he says. “Last year, this was their main area. They had declared Ramadi as their capital.

“They’ll continue to try and come back, so we’ll continue to work with the police to keep neighborhoods safe.”

The next test of the movement’s staying power will come over the next few months, as coalition forces begin phased withdrawals. There are no guarantees, but based on the extraordinary efforts of Iraqis and Americans this year, there’s reason for hope.

Democrats in Washington should build on that hope, and not remain, as Sen. Joe Lieberman described them last week, “emotionally invested in a narrative of defeat and retreat.”

X Kevin Ferris is commentary page editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.