Back to Better
I wanted to call this post "Back to Normal," but Iraq hasn't seen normal in so many decades that nobody there remembers what "normal" is. Nevertheless, today's news out of Anbar shows that things continue to improve.
It's been called "IED Alley, the "path of peril" and lots of unprintable monikers. Its official designation with the U.S. Military is "Route Michigan," the main east-west corridor that connects Baghdad with Al-anbar province and cities like Ramadi and Fallujah whose names will forever conjure up images of bloody house-to-house combat and will remain a part of Marine Corps lore forever. A number of the heroic stories in my upcoming book with Oliver North took place on Route Michigan.
For most of the last five years, parts of route Michigan have been completely closed, which is understandable since it was arguably the most dangerous strip of asphalt on the planet. Later, it was a "coalition only" lane - a tactic used to separate military and civilian traffic, hopefully reducing the number of cars that disappeared into flaming clouds of death next to American convoys. This was only somewhat effective, however, because while the bad guys might be cowards, they aren't stupid. They adapted their tactics to keep on killing.
But then the surge happened. And as Erick Stakelbeck reported yesterday , things have improved markedly. Nowhere has this progress been more apparent than Anbar, which has gotten so much better that Marines are now pulling out of bases there.
Today, military officials announced that Route Michigan will soon be open again for civilian traffic. This is a major step, as it means security is good enough to allow unrestricted traffic along this major artery. Hopefully, this will quicken the pace of rebuilding and reconciliation and allow this province to continue healing.
Oh, and by the way, Iraqi police in Jurf a' Sukhr, where I spent some time on my recent trip to Iraq, yesterday unearthed a huge weapons cache - over 500 pieces of munitions. This was destroyed by coalition forces. Thank God for that - think how many IED's and other mayhem could have been supplied by these weapons.
Also, power generation in Iraq is way up. Matt Sanchez has a great article about it.
And may many more "good days" like this follow.
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PRESS RELEASE
February 26, 2008
Media Advisory: Ramadi Highway Grand Opening
Multi National Force - West PAO
WHO: All Western and Arab Media; request Baghdad bureaus contact their Ramadi stringers for coverage of the events if transportation precludes their attendance.
WHAT: 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division commander and the Ramadi government will conduct grand opening ceremonies for Route Michigan. Formerly known as "IED Alley" for its volume of attacks, Rte. Michigan will enhance economic vitalization, and provide freedom of movement for commerce into Ramadi. This opening further highlights the reconstructive and economic enhancements as a result of the increased security in Ramadi.
RELATED LINK:
Live Fire with Chuck Holton