Posted on 10/17/2008 9:04:54 AM PDT by IrishMike
When Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly deployed to Iraq in February, the violence had fallen so low in Anbar province that he began figuring out how to start closing bases and prepare to go home.
In the last 10 months the Marines in Fallujah have done what was unthinkable before the surge began — they have quietly transferred out of one of Anbar province's largest cities. FOX News has learned in an exclusive interview with Kelly from Fallujah that 80 percent of the move is complete. In February there were 8,000 Marines living at Fallujah base. Now there are about 3,000 left. By Nov. 14 there will be none.
"We will shut down the command function here and I will move; my staff has already started to move," Kelly, the commander of Multinational Force-West, told FOX News in an exclusive interview via satellite. "We will turn the lights off here."
They will hand the Fallujah base over to their Iraqi counterparts on Nov. 14, having relocated themselves and thousands of combat vehicles to the desert base of Al Asad to the west. Marines will no longer be seen in city centers such as Fallujah — a major step toward leaving Iraq, and one step closer to Iraq's goal of having U.S. troops out of its population centers by mid-2009 — one of the key points enshrined in the Status of Forces Agreement being reviewed on Capitol Hill today.
On Wednesday, to little fanfare, the Marines quietly closed down Al Qaim base near the Syrian border. Now it is run by Iraqis.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Americans winning: nothing newsworth for the mid-streams here
Thanks Fox, now they know.
Completely irresponsible reporting
I wonder how much of this news from Iraq of the base closing will get reported in the MSM ?
Quite frankly, everyone is glad to get outta there. It is way out in the middle of nowhere. The roads are nasty and beat the heck outta you and even chopper flights out there are dreary.
Huh?
That was what I was thinking.
That’s all good & fine, but what about this?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2107315/posts
Will they be able to defend themselves after we leave?
My son is leaving for bootcamp on Monday. Look’s like he ain’t goin’ to Iraq. Hello Afghanistan!
Great news.
It isn’t like they can keep anything a secret there. Al Qaim is an old train station and maintenance facility occupied by the military in 2003. Not much in the way of walls or anything to shield the view from those wanting to see in.
That’s probably why they’re slowly pulling out at night.
Exactly no news.
This really is a complete accomplishment brought on by the blood, hard work, and sacrifices made by the various Marine BNs, that have passed through this camp.
bump
Because they can. :-D
That's Baghdad. I hope the people are able to get that nonsense repealed before it spreads to places like Anbar Province.
It almost seems like someone is working to undo it all.
It’s disturbing.
Maj. Gen. John Kelly gets it. You don’t leave active duty U.S. military around with nothing to do. Or they will find something to do, which almost always ends in causing or getting into some sort of trouble. And some kind of discharge. I saw that when the Soviet Union imploded in Europe.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.