US Marines wrap up Iraq duty
Source: Agencies |
January 24, 2010, Sunday
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THE US Marine Corps wrapped nearly seven years in Iraq yesterday, handing over duties to the Army and signaling the start of an accelerated withdrawal of American troops as the United States turns its focus away from the waning Iraqi war to a growing one in Afghanistan.
In Baghdad, meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden says the United States will appeal the dismissal of manslaughter charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly shooting in Iraq in 2007.
Biden made the announcement yesterday after a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He also held talks with Iraqi leaders amid growing tensions over plans to ban election candidates because of suspected links to Saddam Hussein's regime.
The White House worries the bans could raise questions over the fairness of the March 7 parliamentary elections, which are seen as an important step in the American pullout timetable and breaking political stalemates over key issues such as dividing Iraq's oil revenue.
The Marines formally handed over control of Sunni-dominated Anbar, Iraq's largest province, to the Army during a ceremony at a base in Ramadi - where some of the fiercest fighting of the war took place.
If all goes as planned, the last remaining Marines will be followed out by tens of thousands of soldiers in the coming months. US President Barack Obama has ordered all but 50,000 troops out of the country by August 31, with most to depart after the March 7 parliamentary election.
The remaining troops will leave by the end of 2011 under a US-Iraqi security pact.
But concerns about the success of the election - and perhaps the loss of hard won security gains the Marines helped cement - are on the rise because of a growing political dispute that could see more than 500 candidates blacklisted because of suspected ties to previous regime.
The changeover at Ramadi, west of Baghdad, leaves the US Army's 1st Armored Division with responsibility over both Baghdad and Anbar, the vast desert province that stretches from western Baghdad to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The province was once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that erupted after the US-led invasion in 2003. In the battles for control of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the Marines saw some of the war's deadliest fighting.
Violence began dropping off in the province in late 2006 when Sunni fighters - known as Awakening Councils - turned against al-Qaida and sided with the Marines to fight the insurgency.
As many as 25,000 Marines were in Iraq at the peak, mostly in Anbar. The few thousand who remain are expected to ship out in a matter of weeks.
In Baghdad, meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden says the United States will appeal the dismissal of manslaughter charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly shooting in Iraq in 2007.
Biden made the announcement yesterday after a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He also held talks with Iraqi leaders amid growing tensions over plans to ban election candidates because of suspected links to Saddam Hussein's regime.
The White House worries the bans could raise questions over the fairness of the March 7 parliamentary elections, which are seen as an important step in the American pullout timetable and breaking political stalemates over key issues such as dividing Iraq's oil revenue.
The Marines formally handed over control of Sunni-dominated Anbar, Iraq's largest province, to the Army during a ceremony at a base in Ramadi - where some of the fiercest fighting of the war took place.
If all goes as planned, the last remaining Marines will be followed out by tens of thousands of soldiers in the coming months. US President Barack Obama has ordered all but 50,000 troops out of the country by August 31, with most to depart after the March 7 parliamentary election.
The remaining troops will leave by the end of 2011 under a US-Iraqi security pact.
But concerns about the success of the election - and perhaps the loss of hard won security gains the Marines helped cement - are on the rise because of a growing political dispute that could see more than 500 candidates blacklisted because of suspected ties to previous regime.
The changeover at Ramadi, west of Baghdad, leaves the US Army's 1st Armored Division with responsibility over both Baghdad and Anbar, the vast desert province that stretches from western Baghdad to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The province was once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that erupted after the US-led invasion in 2003. In the battles for control of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the Marines saw some of the war's deadliest fighting.
Violence began dropping off in the province in late 2006 when Sunni fighters - known as Awakening Councils - turned against al-Qaida and sided with the Marines to fight the insurgency.
As many as 25,000 Marines were in Iraq at the peak, mostly in Anbar. The few thousand who remain are expected to ship out in a matter of weeks.
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