U.S. Pulls Back From Al-Anbar To Secure Baghdad

Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli (file photo) (RFE/RL)

September 15, 2006 -- A senior U.S. commander said today that the effort to subdue Sunni insurgents in Al-Anbar Governorate has become secondary to the "main effort" of securing Baghdad to avert civil war.

Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq and the top operational commander, acknowledged that commanders have siphoned troops from Al-Anbar, weakening the military's strength there, to build up the U.S. presence in Baghdad.

Commanders are seeking to curb sectarian violence in Baghdad between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims.

(Reuters, AP)