The new Anbar: what the surge hath wrought.(AT WAR II)(United States troops occupation of Anbar, Iraq)

Anbar Province

TO protect "operational security" I am not told about the trip until the night before. The two commanders of coalition forces in Anbar (mostly Marines) are to meet U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker and presidential envoy Meghan O'Sullivan in Ramadi, the provincial capital, and I am to go with them. The Marines have planned a sightseeing tour of what was just recently the most feared insurgent stronghold in Iraq.

We take off from Camp Fallujah, coalition headquarters for Anbar, in a convoy of two Sea Stallion helicopters escorted by two Cobra attack helicopters. I ride in one of the Chinooks with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin; his deputy, Brig. Gen. John Allen, rides in the other. The flight up the Euphrates River takes about 30 minutes.

We are received on the ground in Ramadi by the burly and jovial governor of Anbar, Mamoun Sami Rashid--who has reputedly survived no fewer than 34 assassination attempts. After warm greetings, General Allen explains to the governor and a few other local leaders that the ambassador's visit is extremely important, as he brings with him O'Sullivan, who holds great sway with the president. He advises the Anbaris to be specific and candid in expressing their views; it's clear that he has gained their friendship and trust.

A few minutes later, Ambassador Crocker's party arrives from Baghdad in two Blackhawks. After hugs and handshakes, the delegation clambers into a convoy of about a dozen armored vehicles and heads to downtown Ramadi.

As we drive through town I am amazed to see Iraqi police everywhere, sparsely reinforced by U.S. troops. When we stop at a market thronged with locals, the ambassador doesn't even bother to wear a flak jacket. Later in the day Allen tells me that, only last September, he couldn't fight his way to the center of Ramadi unless he was "prepared to kill a whole lot of people." Coalition forces on the move through Ramadi had to brave a constant barrage of gunfire, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. Those ensconced in hardened positions took dozens of attacks every day; fatalities, too, were daily.

The decision to visit a market is significant. One State Department official who has spent most of the past year working in and around Ramadi tells me that, with reconstruction assistance, some 500 businesses have opened in recent months. The market teems with them. Ambassador Crocker, who speaks fluent Arabic, jokes with businessmen as he visits their shops. He compliments one man on his inventory, and asks whether an item was made in Syria. "No," answers the young Anbari. "It was imported--from China." Everyone starts laughing as the ambassador mutters, "Ah, I knew it." Notwithstanding the good cheer, dozens of soldiers keep a watchful eye on the crowd--and the rooftops. Exposed like this, we are sitting ducks. I too keep glancing at distant rooftops, not quite believing that the insurgents can't find a single sniper to exploit this opportunity.