Al Anbar Governorate - Anbar During The United States War in Iraq

Anbar During The United States War in Iraq

The geographic challenge of the Anbar Governorate is demonstrated by two contrasting facts: While it is Iraq’s largest governorate, it also is its most sparsely populated. For a governorate that is approximately the size of California, it was home to fewer than 1.8 million Iraqis. Most of the population lived in the major cities, like Ramadi and Fallujah, and almost everyone else lived within a short distance of the Euphrates River that snaked from Baghdad to the Syrian Border near Al Qa’im.

Its strategic challenge was demonstrated, in part, by casualty statistics. During the first four years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Anbar Province was the deadliest province for American service members, claiming approximately one-third of American fatalities.

In a country where most were associated with the Shi’ia branch of Islam, the Anbar Province was the Sunni stronghold that had long provided Saddam Hussein with the support he needed to remain in power.

During the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it provided an important base for Al Qaeda and insurgent operations.

Part of its significance came from the fact that the Western Euphrates River Valley served as an important infiltration route for foreign fighters headed to Iraq’s heartland.

The New York Times compared this region to the Vietnam War’s Ho Chi Minh Trail, as foreign fighters and insurgents used the river valley to move in relative safety from the Syrian border to cities like Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah.

The contrast between the fertile Euphrates River Valley and the rest of the province is striking. Along the Euphrates, groves of fruits and vegetables and acre after acre of date palms are surrounded by a lushness that paints the area a vivid green. Just a few miles from the Euphrates, however, the barren landscape turns brown. With the exception of an occasional Bedouin, the desert is essentially empty.

Whether traveling by aircraft, vehicle, or on foot, the Anbar Governorate is vast. During a time when improvised explosive devices (IEDs) became the weapon of choice for insurgents, the need to patrol and travel throughout the province became one of the Marine Corps’ greatest challenges. The threat of insurgent activity, when combined with the challenges that long-distance travel, choking dust, and stifling heat created, made the Anbar Province a difficult area of operation.