![Ramadi (Arabic: الرمادي; BGN: Ar Ramādī) is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.[2]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110904025325im_/http://cdn7.wn.com/pd/b0/c7/4ba3c81b7ca6364542326e64c6c1_grande.jpg "Ramadi (Arabic: الرمادي; BGN: Ar Ramādī) is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.[2]")
| Official name | Al Anbar Governorate |
|---|---|
| Native name | |
| Settlement type | Governorate |
| Coordinates display | inline,title |
| Coordinates region | IQ |
| Subdivision type | Country |
| Subdivision name | |
| Subdivision type1 | Capital |
| Subdivision name1 | Ramadi |
| Subdivision type1 | Governor |
| Subdivision name1 | Qasim Mohammad Abid Hammadi al-Fahadawi |
| Population as of | 2003 |
| Population total | 1,230,000 |
| Blank name | Main language(s) |
| Blank info | Arabic |
| Density km2 | 8.7 |
| Area total km2 | 137808 |
Its capital is Ar Ramadi, other important cities include Fallujah and Haditha.
The province was known as Dulaim until 1962 when it was changed to Ramadi. In 1976 it was renamed Al Anbar.
The most important agricultural crops in Al-Anbar are wheat, potatoes, autumn, barley, maize and vegetables and fodder. There are also a large number of orchards and the province has 2.5 million palm trees. Agriculture depends on perfusion or through the rivers and the wells and the rains.
The Euphrates River flows diagonally from the north to the southeast, passing through six of the seven districts:
According to statistics of the Ministry of Commerce in 1999, there were about 1.5 million inhabitants in seven major cities in Al Anbar province.
According to the former regime, the cities of Fallujah (650,000) and Ramadi (700,000) had a population of over 1.3 million people.
According to UN statistics in 2003 the population of Al Anbar is 1,230,169. But the governor of Al Anbar Maamoon Sami Rasheed al-Alwani says "The UN statistics are incorrect and there no statistics included all the cities and towns in Al Anbar".
Most of the inhabitants are Sunni Muslims from the Dulaim tribe.
The Iraqi resistance was widely considered to be stronger in this province than in any other in Iraq, and was the most hostile against American forces. The independent website iCasualties.org has reported that 1,298 U.S. servicemen have been killed in action in Anbar since the invasion. Many of these died in and around Fallujah and Ramadi.
In late 2005, a series of operations by U.S. forces was relatively successful in driving resistance from Anbar. This resulted in the Battle of Ramadi (2006), led by the 1st brigade of the 1st Armored Division.
The Washington Post reported on September 11, 2006 that, according to a classified U.S. Marine Corps report, "The prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim and there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do there. Reporting that there are no functioning Iraqi government institutions in Anbar, leaving a vacuum that has been filled by the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which had become the province's most significant political force. Another person familiar with the report said it describes Anbar as beyond repair; a third said it concludes that the United States has been defeated in Anbar."
In November 2006, another part of the same U.S. military report was filed, confirming the earlier warning that Anbar was falling under insurgent control. The report stated that "the social and political situation has deteriorated to a point that U.S. and Iraqi troops are no longer capable of militarily defeating the insurgency in al-Anbar," and that "nearly all government institutions from the village to provincial levels have disintegrated or have been thoroughly corrupted and infiltrated by Al Qaeda in Iraq, or a smattering of other resistance groups." leaving the insurgency and Al Qaeda in Iraq as the "dominant organization of influence in al-Anbar,"
In late 2006 the United States changed strategies in Anbar. It negotiated with tribal leaders including Sheikh Abu Risha and agreed on establishing Iraqi police in Anbar. U.S. forces would also withdraw from cities of Anbar and would release Sunni detainees.
A New York Times article in April 2007 described Anbar as "undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing." It continued, "Yet for all the indications of a heartening turnaround in Anbar, the situation, as it appeared during more than a week spent with American troops in Ramadi and Falluja in early April, is at best uneasy and fragile,", citing a lack of municipal services, weak local government, and failure to stop all the insurgent attacks. Still, "There are some people who would say we've won the war out here. I'm cautiously optimistic as we're going forward." This "turnaround" with alliance of local tribesmen would later become known as the "Anbar Awakening." A changed U.S. strategy in early 2007 brought about astonishing changes so that by summer of 2008 Al Anbar was almost completely pacified. Civilian governments had been established in all important cities and the insurgency had degenerated to the status of criminal gangs. While Al Qaeda in Iraq could continue to mount terrorist attacks against civilian targets, they and the insurgency in general were broken as a significant fighting force.
In June 2008, it was announced that Anbar would be the tenth province to transfer to Provincial Iraqi Control, the first Sunni Arab region to be handed back. This handover was delayed due to bad weather, as well as an Al Qaeda in Iraq attack on a meeting between Sunni Sheikhs and U.S. Marines in Karmah which killed at least 23, including three Marines on June 26. The handover did occur on September 1, 2008.
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![Ramadi (Arabic: الرمادي; BGN: Ar Ramādī) is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.[2]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110904025325im_/http://cdn6.wn.com/pd/b0/c7/4ba3c81b7ca6364542326e64c6c1_thumb.jpg "Ramadi (Arabic: الرمادي; BGN: Ar Ramādī) is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.[2]")
