With about 20,000 additional American troops heading to Baghdad as part of the new security crackdown, Mixon said he has “only one little brigade covering all of Diyala.” A brigade is the smallest self’sufficient unit in the U.S. Army, and typically consists of between 1,500 and 3,500 soldiers.

Dejavu……. so we’ll TRY and secure Baghdad and in the meantime, violence will rage elsewhere because of it. Great plan George!!!

TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. general warned Saturday that increased Sunni attacks in a province extremists call the center of their Islamic state in Iraq may delay plans to hand it over to Iraqi troops by the end of the year.

Plans call for all provinces to be transferred to Iraqi security control by Dec. 31, with the hope that U.S. troops could begin to leave. But increased attacks by Sunni insurgents could delay the transfer of Diyala, just northeast of Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon told The Associated Press.

Direct fire attacks on U.S. soldiers in the province are up 70 percent since last summer, said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 3rd Brigade. The security crackdown in Baghdad has also encouraged mostly Sunni extremists to flee the capital for surrounding provinces, especially Diyala, Mixon said.

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