NARWAN, Iraq — As sunset prayers played through a mosque tower’s loudspeakers across the street, soldiers worked on sprucing up their new home.
Combat Outpost Salie still needs a few finishing touches, but the 3rd Infantry Division began moving soldiers to its newest post Thursday.
A couple of years ago, U.S. commanders pondered “smaller footprints” and isolated bases in Iraq. Combat Outpost Salie is about 50 yards away from a large outdoor market and it is surrounded by homes, businesses and a communications tower. It also connects to an Iraqi police station.
Its existence is a reflection of the Army’s new counterinsurgency strategy to live within neighborhoods instead of just patrolling them, say officers from the 3rd Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery.
I still think that we were winning prior to the surge. The Anbar Awakening is one piece of that evidence to support my view. This has accelerated our progress but it was not a result of the surge.
Remember that the surge was always more about tactics than numbers. Given that the surge has been more successful than I expected, I think we can hold the gains we've made and continue winning after the troop surge has expired. And if the Iraqis make more progress in their security forces, the progress will continue as we draw down from even pre-surge strength.
