Well, how many more times will US and Iraqi troops work together to liberate Ramadi from terrorists?
Let's count up the previous attempts, shall we?
November 18, 2003U.S. Troops Leave Iraqi City, Hand Control Over to Iraqis
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V123/N57/iraq_long1_57.57w.htmlA U.S. commander is preparing to pull troops back from Ramadi, a city at the center of guerrilla activity, and turn it over to Iraqi officers, an experiment that could change the course of the occupation of Iraq.
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Ramadi, the provincial capital, with about 250,000 residents, has been a center of armed resistance against the U.S. occupation.
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But Swannack said he had made steady progress in Ramadi, not just in training security forces but also in winning over allegiance from residents.
May 2004Iraqis and U.S. Troops Work Together in Towns of Ramadi and Hit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/05/20040504-2.htmlIraq Fact of the Day
Working together, Iraqis and U.S. troops are making a real difference in the lives of families in Ramadi and Hit, two towns in the so-called Baathist Triangle. Marines delivered 10 newly painted police cars to the police chief in Hit, and other Marines helped Iraqis in Ramadi break ground for a new medical clinic. A school in Ramadi received a truckload of supplies from the Marines, including air conditioners, ceiling fans, refrigerators and school desks. These are just a few examples of the ways U.S. troops and Iraqis are working together to improve life in Iraq.
Source: U.S. Marines Corps
July 23 2004Falluja parallels in Ramadi
http://csmonitor.com/2004/0723/p06s01-woiq.htmlRAMADI, IRAQ – Some of the heaviest fighting in months erupted on Wednesday in the troubled city of Ramadi. Throughout the day, the thud of mortars, bombs, and machine-gun fire echoed down desolate streets as insurgents battled hundreds of US Marines.
Nov 2004 (
Some "real difference" they made)
20 US soldiers wounded in Ramadi
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/06/content_389175.htmTwenty American soldiers were wounded in the Sunni Triangle city of Ramadi on Saturday, the U.S. military said without elaborating. Residents of that insurgent stronghold, located 70 miles west of Baghdad, reported clashes and explosions throughout the day.
Feb 2005Marines launch bid to secure Ramadi ("Operation River Blitz ")
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1251865Feb 2005Citizens escape Ramadi
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=7313Residents of Ramadi, the capital of the western Anbar province, started to escape the city after the latest assault launched by U.S. occupation forces and Iraqi troops.
May 2005General strike against occupation in Iraqi city of Ramadi
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=6522Iraqis in the city of Ramadi and neighbouring towns held a general strike last weekend in a protest against a blockade by US troops. The strike was called as US troops mounted a major offensive on villages and towns along the Euphrates river up to the border with Syria.
Sheikh Majeed al-Gaood, of the Duleim tribe from Ramadi, spoke to Socialist Worker by telephone from the Jordanian capital, Amman. He said that on Friday 7 May, after US troops surrounded the city, “a call came from the mosques for a general strike in Ramadi and neighbouring towns. Schools, markets and offices shut down in protest at the blockade”.
June 2005Gunmen take over Ramadi as bomb kills five marines
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1508573,00.htmlInsurgents have taken over much of the Iraqi city of Ramadi and used it to launch attacks against US forces while terrorising the population with public beheadings.
Sep 29, 2005Roadside Bomb Kills Five American Soldiers During Combat in Western Iraqi Town of Ramadi
http://abcnews.go.com/International/IraqCoverage/wireStory?id=1169957A roadside bomb killed five American soldiers during combat in the western town of Ramadi, a hotbed of insurgent activity, the U.S military said Thursday.
Oct 2005US troops deny firing on civilians as 70 die in air strikes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/18/wirq18.xmlThe US military said the casualties were the result of operations started on Sunday to combat insurgent groups that have taken control of parts of Ramadi recently.
April 2006Iraqi Troops Start Rolling Out in Ramadi
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2217876May 22, 2006Insurgents Keep U.S. at Bay in Ramadi
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/05/22/214776-insurgents-keep-us-at-bay-in-ramadiRAMADI, IRAQ — Whole neighborhoods are lawless, too dangerous for police. Some roads are so bomb-laden that U.S. troops won't use them. Guerrillas attack U.S. troops nearly every time they venture out — and hit their bases with gunfire, rockets or mortars when they don't.
And now:
Iraqis flee Ramadi as troops mass
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-ramadi11jun11,0,6003091.story?track=mostviewed-storylevelFears of an imminent offensive by the U.S. troops massed around the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi intensified Saturday, with residents pouring out of the city to escape what they describe as a mounting humanitarian crisis.