US forces in Iraq have recently began equipping Sunni tribes with state-of-the-art weapons, transferring these arms on a daily basis with massive military cargo planes, Asharq Al Awsat daily reported on Saturday. These weapons include heavy artillery guns, armored vehicles, Apache helicopters, light and heavy weapons distributed between Al Anbar tribal volunteers.
This measure by the US is sending a clear message that the Americans are seeking to liberate Al Anbar cities by relying on Sunni tribes without needing Iraqi Army, police or militia forces. US forces are also expanding their ground recon missions around the city of Ramadi.
These recent measures follow the recent appointment of General MacFarland as commander of US forces in Al Anbar. He was one of the US military commanders back in 2006 who supervised the formation of the Awakening Council forces that pushed al-Qaeda out of Al Anbar Province in Iraq.