IRAQ: A bridge closer to home

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For the Marines in the once-violent Euphrates River Valley, the road home may include a bridge.

A new bridge across the Euphrates River at the farming community of Baghdadi was opened Saturday -- a project of the Marines, Seabees and Army Corps of Engineers.

The bridge will allow Iraqis to cross the river without making the lengthy trip along rutted roads looking for a crossing point.

It will also allow the Iraqi security forces to maintain a persistent, armed presence on both sides of the river, lest the insurgents attempt a bloody comeback.

When the Iraqi forces are in place, the Marines from the Camp Pendleton-based 5th Regiment who have been manning an outpost in Baghdadi can withdraw to the U.S. base at Al Asad while remaining in ‘over-watch’ if the Iraqis need help.

The larger strategy for Anbar province, apace for several months, has the U.S. turning primary security responsibility, region by region, over to the Iraqi army and police. The final turnover is set for mid-June. That will allow for a reduction of U.S. forces in the sprawling province.

—Tony Perry in San Diego

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