Anbar Province, long the lawless heartland of the tenacious Sunni Arab resistance, is undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing and the insurgency appears to be in retreat...
Many Sunni tribal leaders, once openly hostile to the American presence, have formed a united front with American and Iraqi government forces against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. With the tribal leaders’ encouragement, thousands of local residents have joined the police force. About 10,000 police officers are now in Anbar, up from several thousand a year ago. During the same period, the police force here in Ramadi, the provincial capital, has grown from fewer than 200 to about 4,500, American military officials say.
It's the Patriquin Plan in action, and it looks like it's working right now. The article, of course, has caveats, as it should. The tenuous hold on a more peaceful existence is dependent on a thousand political and cultural factors, so let's pray they all stay aligned or that the U.S. Marines can keep the aligned with the sheer power of their badassery.
Previously, the Patriquin Plan:
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