Bush: Iraq's Anbar province 'transformed'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Anbar province in Iraq is hard proof that the surge of U.S. combat troops in Iraq worked to reduce violence, U.S. President George Bush said Tuesday.

"Today, Anbar is a province transformed," Bush said to the National Defense University in Washington.

Responsibility for security in the province last week was transferred from U.S. forces to Iraqi civilian authorities.

"With this transfer of responsibility, the people of Anbar took charge of their own security and their own destiny. It was a moment of pride for all Iraqis -- and a moment of success in the war on terror," Bush said.

Because of the success in reducing in violence in Anbar and elsewhere in Iraq, Bush also announced a plan to return about 8,000 U.S. military personnel during the next several months. Expected to be rotated out and not replaced in Iraq include a U.S. Marines battalion and a U.S. Army combat brigade, as well as combat support personnel.

Improved security in Anbar also means reconciliation has occurred across the province, Bush said.

"Today, Anbar is no longer lost to al-Qaida," Bush said, "it has been reclaimed by the Iraqi people."