News and Politics | October 23, 2008 | 22 comments

U.S. hands "triangle of death" to Iraqi troops

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081023/ts_nm/us_iraq_handover

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U.S. forces declared an area once known as the "triangle of death" safe enough for Iraqi troops to take charge on Thursday, handing over responsibility for security in Babil province to Iraqi forces.

The province south of Baghdad is the 12th of Iraq's 18 provinces in which primary responsibility for security has been given to Iraqi forces.

With violence at four-year lows, only the capital Baghdad, four ethnically and religiously mixed northern provinces and Wasit province along the Iranian border still require day-to-day U.S. patrols of Iraqi streets.

Iraq's National Security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said at a handover ceremony in the provincial capital Hilla that Iraqis will also take control of Wasit province within days.

"This is proof that our military forces have reached self-sufficiency, and can now be depended upon to preserve internal security," Rubaie said.

Lieutenant-General Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. combat forces in Iraq, called the event a "milestone for Iraq in maturing as a sovereign and democratic nation."

"Just a year ago this province was experiencing well over 20 attacks per week. And today attacks are down well over 80 percent. This is truly remarkable," he said.

Iraqi troops, police and firemen then marched past to the sound of a brass band.

Babil, a vast province named for the ruins of ancient Babylon, includes rural Sunni Arab areas dotted with date palm groves along the Euphrates south of Baghdad, which U.S. forces dubbed the "triangle of death" in years after the 2003 invasion.

The triangle was a heartland of the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces and the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad until last year, when many Sunni Arabs joined U.S.-funded patrols known as "Awakening" groups.

Babil's cities have also seen uprisings by followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr as recently as April this year. But they have been far quieter in recent months as Sadr's followers have held to a ceasefire.

Violence across Iraq has fallen over the past year to four-year lows, but militants are still able to carry out frequent car bomb and suicide bomb attacks. Suicide bombings are a signature tactic of al Qaeda Sunni Islamist militants.
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22 comments // U.S. hands "triangle of death" to Iraqi troops

  • naturechild
    • 0
      naturechild  

    • This is how it should have done in the first place. Let those people fight their own battles if they have to. It makes not sense to have thousands of American and Iraqi lives lost for greed.

    • 3 years ago
  • Marc_in_Waikiki
    • 0
      Marc_in_Waikiki  

    • Finally! Although this should have happened way back when Bush had declared "Mission accomplished!" Let's now focus on getting our brave troops back home to their loved ones.

    • 3 years ago
  • blamblaw
    • 0
      blamblaw  

    • I am happy to hear that some progress is being made. The sad thing is, no matter how much it's getting better in Iraq, we still won't be pulling our troops out any time soon.

    • 3 years ago
  • walski
    • 0
      walski  

    • Great post, great news.
      But to some of these responses,Wow, how old are you people, were you too young or too stupid to remember what happened there before we ever got involved?

      Saddam and his SONS (the next in line) were committing genocide of an entire race along with raping and stealing from the people they were suppose to represent. He also openly declared he would be willing to harbor terrorist, specifically those wanting to attack the US. Similar to the NAZI party but the US extinguished it early.

    • 3 years ago
  • donkeyfly69
  • walski
    • 0
      walski  
    • walski:

      His story is very similar to what happened with Castro in Cuba, the Korean issues today, Nazi party etc..

      He was part of Ba'ath party and played a key role in a coup in 1968. He was the vice president for years and became president in 1979. There were religious wars between certain views, specifically the Sunni and Shi'ite and there were other attacks on Iraq to control their oil. Like many corrupt dictators he put on a front that he was trying to bring peace among the people. Many countries, including the US aided him in his pursuit to unite the people and stop the Iranian attacks on Iraq. Then he was either corrupted or his true colors came out like so many other dictators. But the truth about Saddam and his sons is terrifying; allowing people to starve in the street as they hoarded the country's oil $.

      There is a plethora of info about him and what was going on in Iraq that doesnt involve WMD's, but he basically came to power over a decade before the Persian Gulf conflict.

    • 3 years ago
  • iloveravi
    • 0
      iloveravi  
    • walski:

      Why is the americans killing a million civilians less bad than saddam killing fewer people?

      Things were not even remotely as bad in iraq as they are now.

      To suggest otherwise is insulting. And embarrassing.

      You cannot invade a nation, kill 100s of 1000s of civilians, steal their natural resources and pretend that you made things better.

      Your message disgusts me.

      You should be ashamed of yourself.

    • 3 years ago
  • walski
    • 0
      walski  
    • walski:

      ilove- Thanks grandma for the lesson on shame

      But I guess we will disagree on this, I think that the quiet killing of an entire race of Sunni Muslims by a dictator that our Democratic party led by JFK, helped put into power is not acceptable. We didn't suddenly invade Iraq, we hardly left, since the 70's, Saddam's reign was partly our responsibility and we were the only people willing to take him out of office.

      ILOVE, I guess you're the type that during Hitler's reign would've said, like many Americans, 'let Europe take care if itself.' A quiet holocaust and total genocide of a race is acceptable as long it doesn't impact our daily lives.There is nothing wrong with that, every country has a violent history if you look hard enough.

      As far as natural resources goes, we paid top $ for those wells and continue to fund the nation. Those were our rigs the terrorists set fire to and our hardware that was wasted. Oh, and our oil companies funded by our tax $ to put them out.

      ILOVE- By the fact that you dont know if it is 100,000 or a million dead civilians tells me you probably dont read history that happened before the 90's.

      That's okay, your ignorance doesn't disgust me, I pity you. Like many, you probably get your daily fix of politics from 5 minutes of the news as you flip between reruns of SouthPark and The Hills.

      I am not ashamed, I was not apart of the Democratic party in the 70's but I am a little embarrassed for you. There is still time for you to brush up on Iraq and we can continue this when you have a little more background. Thanks for the opinion.

    • 3 years ago
  • ninepounds6
  • emmahill
  • crimson_saint
  • LILMAMAINGA
    • 0
      LILMAMAINGA  

    • I am glad to hear of progress over there. It will be even better when they give control of the entire country back to the people and bring our troops home. I think we will see Bush trying to erase some more of his dirty tracks before he leaves office. Whatever he does, it will still not diminish the destruction he has brought on our country through his lies and distortion of truth.

    • 3 years ago
  • diode
  • TravG73
  • kennymotown
    • 0
      kennymotown  

    • I hate to call your bluff dabne but I will. Our troops will get the pat on their backs for their good job in Iraq, It's never been about the fine troops it's been about the ridiculous Commander in Chief for putting them there in the first place. These soldiers are my brothers and will always be. Help is needed to finish the job in Afghanistan, the other night I saw a fire fight on TV far away on some lonesome hill top in Afghanistan and the soldiers were begging for men and weapons that don't jam in the midst of battle. I imediatly e-mailed the U.S Army and told them who the hell is in charge, get some reinforcements over there now., send me if you have too. Even at age 56
      and a ex-infantry soldier I could help I'm sure.

    • 3 years ago
  • Cynic2
  • dabne
    • 0
      dabne  

    • Nobody cares when our boys clean up the violence and turn Iraqi communities back over to the Iraqi's.

      They get no credit, no pat on the back, no thank you.

      Only blame.

      The American people don't care at this point. They've been force fed by the liberal media for seven straight years.

      Kudos Pericles for at least posting this.

    • 3 years ago
  • Flyan
    • 0
      Flyan  
    • dabne:

      Boy, when things get rough the US seems to find it a lot easier to blame 'liberals' and 'liberal media' for shit then it is to man up and say it made a mistake. Why don't you bitch about the right wing media that suckered the masses into supporting the invasion (its not a war) of the middle east in the first place?

      I suppose Current is too liberal for you too...

    • 3 years ago
  • iloveravi
    • 0
      iloveravi  
    • dabne:

      You illegally invade and occupy a country that offered no threat to your or your nation.

      To steal their natural resources and kill a million of their civilians and you want to be thanked for it?

      Are you out of your fucking mind?

      You should be begging the world for forgiveness and praying that every single young iraqi doesn't dedicate his life to killing you.

      You fucked up on this one! Badly. You have become the most hated nation on earth. No one likes or trusts america like they used to because of this!

      I truly hope that a violent and brutal nation with a savage and destructive military force comes to liberate you some day.

      I fear that is the only way you will ever understand what you have done.

    • 3 years ago
  • bimmer_man
    • 0
      bimmer_man  
    • dabne:

      yea, I think the news is great that our troops have done what we've asked them so far and now there seems to be a capable army in Iraq and they understand what must be done. The government is established, and although there is some infighting they don't need a baby sitter. You can't stop car bombings by loading the streets with U.S. Humvees and M-16's. You have to allow the popular culture of the country push those things beyond the fringe. Iraq will be a safe place, not when a U.S. soldier is on every corner, but instead when the people of Iraq are satisfied and nobody thinks anything is worth blowing yourself up over.

    • 3 years ago
  • huntre
    • 0
      huntre  

    • If the violence in Iraq has really lowered, I can only surmise that this is because it has escalated in Afghanistan and US forces are needed there to deal with it.

    • 3 years ago
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