Middle East: U.S. Preparing to Send New Arms to Help Iraq Battle al-Qaeda - by David Lerman

The U.S. is preparing to send small arms and ammunition to the Iraqi government to help combat resurgent al-Qaeda-linked forces in western Anbar province, the Pentagon said today. 

The aid will be delivered “as rapidly as possible” to meet a request made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

More than two years after the last U.S. combat forces left Iraq, Maliki is struggling to combat al-Qaeda and allied forces that have seized control of Fallujah and other areas of Anbar province in recent weeks, even as he seeks to extend his tenure in contested elections scheduled for April.

Read more: U.S. Preparing to Send New Arms to Help Iraq Battle al-Qaeda (1) - Businessweek