Totten: Anbar Awakens Part I: The Battle of Ramadi Totten: Anbar Awakens Part I: The Battle of Ramadi

Michael J. Totten: Anbar Awakens Part I: The Battle of Ramadi tells the reality of the Anbar Awakening. Ramadi a year ago was extrodinarily dangerous for everyone, and in particular, the American military. Today, as with much of Anbar, Ramadi is more quit than many parts of Baghdad, and the Sunni Arab tribes there are working closely with Coallition and Iraqi security personel to keep it so. But that hasn't come without cost - as the city looks as bad as some of the German cities at the end of WWII. Life is improving though, with the restoration of some electricity and water, as compared to a total absence when the city was run by al Qaeda.

I will submit that for those of us who haven't been there, the best sources for what is really going on in Iraq come from the embeds like Michael Totten and Michael Yon. Far better than the perky Katie Couric spending a week in the country.