Anbar, US military and State Department leaders break Ramadan fast together

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Nancy Lugo | Provincial Council members and local leaders of Anbar province with the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, take part in an Iftar dinner on Aug. 8 in Anbar province. An Iftar dinner is the breaking of the day's fast during the Muslim holiday Ramadan, which lasts approximately the month of August. U.S. forces sharing the important meal with local leaders marks a significant step in the relationship we have with the people of Anbar, said Col. Tim McAteer, 2/82 commander. With a long history of supporting U.S. military operations in Iraq, the 2/82 and it's paratroopers are enabling the withdraw of U.S. military forces from Iraq.  

RAMADI, IRAQ

08.08.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Nancy Lugo 

82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office

RAMADI, Iraq - Provincial Council members and local leaders of the Anbar province, along with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, took part in an Iftar dinner, Aug. 8, in the province, hosted by the Anbar Provincial Reconstruction Team. An Iftar dinner is the breaking of the day’s fast during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which lasts through the end of August.

Trays of traditional Iraqi food and drink were brought out by Iraqi soldiers, filling a long table set up the length of the room in the provincial government’s meeting room, known as the Diwan. Dates where brought out first to break the fast as U.S. paratroopers, the PRT, council members and local leaders all ate together at the table, celebrating the last official act of the PRT and continued progress and improvements in the province.

Members of the 2/82 have been partnering with local leaders and Iraqi security forces since arriving in Anbar province in support of Operation New Dawn.

Events like this wouldn’t have happened five years ago at the height of the insurgency, said Col. Tim McAteer, 2/82 commander. The efforts by the people of the Anbar province, with the support of U.S. forces, have made events such as these possible.

The PRT leaving the province marks one more step in the changing nature of the U.S. commitment to Iraq. This transition will also see U.S. military forces moving out of Iraq in accordance with the current Iraqi security agreement.

“It was a good night of fellowship,” McAteer said.

• Date Taken: 08.08.2011
• Date Posted: 08.09.2011 09:30
• Story ID: 75077
• Location: RAMADI, IQ