THE ARAR CROSSING ON THE IRAQI-SAUDI BORDER — The topic was of utmost importance to the Iraqis: how to protect thousands of hajj pilgrims who will descend on this dusty checkpoint on their trek to the holy city of Mecca.
For Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the top Marine in Iraq, this particular meeting at the Iraqi-Saudi border was part of his "last 10 yards" strategy to disengage the Marines from Anbar province after four long and bloody years by getting the often feuding provincial and national governments to reconcile.
In the past there have been problems concerning the hajj pilgrims amid disagreements and lack of cooperation between the Anbar provincial government in Ramadi and the Iraqi national government in Baghdad.
Now, for two hours, the provincial government and the deputy prime minister, along with three dozen sheiks, contractors and military officials, debated, discussed and disputed how best to serve the pilgrims. The hajj in the Saudi city this year begins the first week in December.
"We must untangle this mess and decide who does what because we don't have much time," said Mamoun Sami Rasheed, the governor of Anbar.
Deputy Prime Minister Rafi Issawi agreed, and discussion continued amid much smoking of cigarettes and drinking of sugared tea.
Kelly, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), sat in a place of honor, on the same couch as the governor and deputy prime minister. He said little -- he was there not as a mediator, but a facilitator.
Kelly had encouraged Issawi to attend. Marine Osprey helicopters brought the Iraqi VIPs to Arar, about 200 miles southwest of Baghdad. Kelly's presence made the meeting more newsworthy for Baghdad television stations, several of which sent film crews.
Kelly's goal at this and many other meetings on other topics was to get the provincial and national governments into the habit of cooperating and providing services to their constituents.
"The Anbaris are trying to sort out who they are and where they're going," Kelly said later in his office at the base at Al Asad about 200 miles north.
After four years, many major battles and 1,300 U.S. military fatalities in the province, the Marine Corps believes that it has largely done its part in Anbar.
Kelly has 22,000 troops but says he could reduce that number significantly without hindering progress toward making Anbar self-sufficient. Any decision on drawing down troop levels will be made by military and civilian officials in Baghdad in addition to U.S. officials in Washington.
