Ramadi finally gets some extra attention

Reuters:

Al Qaeda militants have gained ground in Ramadi and the 1,500 extra U.S. troops brought to Iraq to help fight them will be used to try to break their grip on the town, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

"We are very concerned about Ramadi. The situation in Ramadi is very serious," chief U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told a news conference.

The U.S. military has not suggested publicly that a big offensive is expected in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad. But U.S. military officials appear to be focusing more on the town, capital of Anbar province, the insurgent heartland in western Iraq.

Two extra battalions have moved to Iraq from Kuwait to step up the fight against al Qaeda militants and insurgents in Anbar.

"Al Qaeda militants have increased their presence. The extra troops have been brought in to facilitate the movement of other troops and deal with al Qaeda," said military spokesman Colonel Nelson McCouch.

He said the troops would be based in Ramadi, which has emerged as the biggest hotspot in Iraq after a major U.S. military offensive crushed al Qaeda militants and insurgents in 2004 in nearby Falluja, a former rebel bastion.

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There are some obvious difference to Fallujah, but it has seemed clear for some time that the US and Iraqis did not have enough force in the city to seize the initiative. US and Iraqi units guarding goverment buildings were under daily attacks from buildings in the city. The old rail station was a frequent base of attack as was a mosque near the "city hall." None of the stories about the firefights in the city indicate why these places were not seized and controlled, but it is probably fair to assume that the units working the city did not have enough troops to get the job done. There was probably a hope that sufficient Iraqi units would be available to get the job done, but their appears to be recognition now, that thye are not ready in sufficient numbers to take over.