Background
On 10 February 2007, General David Petraeus replaced General Casey as the commander of Multi National Force-Iraq and Admiral William Fallon replaced General Abizaid as CENTCOM Commander on 16 March 2007.
The operation is being led by Iraqi General Abboud Qanbar, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq and Gulf wars. General Qanbar was a compromise choice because General Mohan al-Furayji, the first choice of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to head the operation, was rejected by the U.S. Army.
On the first day of the operation new checkpoints were erected and increased vehicle inspections and foot patrols were reported in some neighborhoods. The operation was billed as a major neighborhood-to-neighborhood sweep to quell sectarian violence in the city of 6 million.
This joint Iraqi and U.S. operation was originally referred to as Operation Imposing Law by Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki and U.S. generals. However, this name for the operation appears to have fallen from official favor, probably because its acronym, O.I.L., could be politically awkward for the United States, which has been accused of being involved in Iraq primarily to ensure a secure source of petroleum.
Read more about this topic: Operation Imposing Law
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