Marines to cut forces in stable Anbar province

[unhappycamper]

Marines to cut forces in stable Anbar province
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, April 15, 2008

ARLINGTON, Va. — The security situation in Iraq’s Western Anbar province is now so stable that the U.S. Marines regiment in charge of the area is reducing from five battalions to three, its leader said Monday.

“We’re pulling back,” said Col. Patrick Malay, commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team 5, in a video briefing from Al Asad Air Base.

Malay said he currently has about 4,300 Marines working to supervise Multi-National Forces – West, a 30,000-square-mile area west of Ramadi that borders Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

But by this summer, he said, “We’re taking a 40 percent cut in combat power and a 30 percent cut in personnel.”

The two battalions who are leaving are not being transferred to another part of Iraq. Instead, they are finishing their normal rotations and “going home,” without being replaced, Malay said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54047