Anbar Awakens: The Tipping Point
Abstract
The stunning security improvements in Al Anbar province during 2007 fundamentally changed the military and political landscape of Iraq. Many, both in and outside the military, had assessed the situation in Anbar as a lost cause. The Anbar Awakening of Sunni tribal leaders and their supporters that began in September 2006 near Ramadi seemed to come out of nowhere. But the change that led to the defeat of Al-Qaeda in Ramadi was not a random event. It was the result of a concerted plan executed by U.S. forces in Ramadi. Tactical victory became a strategic turning point when far-sighted senior leaders, both Iraqi and American, replicated the Ramadi model throughout Anbar province, in Baghdad, and other parts of the country, dramatically changing the Iraq security situation in the process. The 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, the "Ready First Combat Team, was at the center of the Anbar Awakening. When they arrived in Ramadi in June 2006, few of them thought their campaign would change the entire complexion of the war and push Al-Qaeda to the brink of defeat in Iraq. The Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen who served in or with their brigade combat team (BCT) enabled the Anbar Awakening through a deliberate, often difficult campaign that combined traditional counterinsurgency principles with precise, lethal operations. The skilled application of the same principles and exploitation of success by other great units in Anbar and other parts of Iraq spread the success in Ramadi far beyond their area of operations at a pace no one could have predicted. The Ready First enabled the Anbar Awakening by doing the following: employing carefully focused lethal operations, securing the populace through forward presence, co-opting local leaders, developing competent host-nation security forces, creating a public belief in rising success, and developing human and physical infrastructure.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA486828
Entities
People
- Niel Smith
- Sean Macfarland
Organizations
- United States Army