Hope Restored in Tal Afar

One of our heroes, Col HR McMaster tells how the 3rd Armored Brigade has returned an Iraqi town to its people:

When the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment arrived in the region in summer 2005, Tal Afar was a support base that insurgents used to organize, train and equip terrorist cells... Insurgents terrorized the people of Tal Afar, making them afraid to cooperate with coalition or Iraqi security forces, McMaster said. An average of five civilians were killed each day, and the insurgents spread anti-coalition propaganda, he said.
"This enemy was particularly brutal, and this enemy had choked the life out of the city," he said.

Then came Operation Restoring Rights, and now:

Sectarian violence is ending in Tal Afar, McMaster said. Before the operation, Turkmen Sunnis, who comprise 75 percent of the population, were not able to join the police force because of threats to their families. Now, all citizens work together on a police force that has grown from 150 to 1,765, and the people want to reconcile their differences, he said.

"We began to see the Iraqis taking more and more ownership of this reconciliation process, meeting on their own, for example," he said.
U.S. and Iraqi forces are also restoring basic services to Tal Afar, McMaster said. Before the operation, about 60 percent of the people had electricity and 40 percent had water. Now, virtually all the people have both services, he said.
Statistics can prove success to a certain point, McMaster said, but the most convincing proof is what is only visible to troops on the ground.

"The most tangible thing we can see is the people are happy," he said. "Hope is rekindled; children rush to our soldiers; people spontaneously express their gratitude to us and the Iraqi army. There are bonds of trust, mutual respect and common purpose forming between the Iraqi army and the people."

Well done, Colonel, and thanks!