Anbar is Being Handed Over to the Iraqis

Once the most violent place in Iraq, Anbar province will come under Provincial Iraqi Control on Saturday, a senior military official said Monday.

So far, nine Iraqi provinces are under Provincial Iraqi Control, or PIC, in which Iraqi security forces perform day-to-day operations and U.S. troops provide assistance as needed, the military official told reporters.

"When you PIC a province, the coalition force goes into what we call an operational overwatch: They're there, essentially as a security blanket," the official said.

CNN has a bit too. Let's see if the Iraqis can hack it. The Shia government is going to have to do some fancy foot work to keep it less of a problem child than it was. If they can, it'll be a big step forward for the country.

Qadisiya, a southern province, is supposed to be handed over this year too. FYI.

Defense Tech has a post as well.