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Fallujah deal imminent?
AP / EFLU.S. Marines negotiated a plan Thursday to pull back forces from Fallujah, a move that could lift a nearly monthlong siege and allow an Iraqi force led by a former Saddam Hussein-era general to handle security. However, U.S. officials in Washington and Iraq gave somewhat differing accounts on the status of any agreement. A Marine commander in Iraq said a deal was reached but later said "fine points" needed to be fixed. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said there was no deal yet and officials were "still working on it." Let's not be too hasty. A force of some 1,100 members called the Fallujah Protective Army would replace the Marine cordon and move into the city as U.S. troops pull back. [It] would be led by a leading general from Saddam's army and include Iraqis with "military experience" from the Fallujah region, Byrne said. Uh oh. It could even include gunmen who fought with guerrillas against the Americans particularly ex-soldiers disgruntled over losing their jobs when the United States disbanded the old Iraqi army, another Marine officer said. Wanted: foxes to guard henhouse. The new force would not include "hardcore" insurgents or Islamic militants holed up in the city, the officer said. Well, if they're not "hardcore" that's all right then. Byrne identified the commander of the new force as Gen. Salah. He said he did not know the generals full name, but Lt. Gen. Salah Abboud al-Jabouri, a native of the Fallujah region, served as governor of Anbar province under Saddam. Ring any bells? Marines on the south side of the city began packing up gear Thursday in preparation to withdraw and breaking down earthen berms and other security barriers. But Byrne later said the timing for a pullback was unclear. Washington is under intense international pressure to find a peaceful solution to the standoff that has killed hundreds of Iraqis and became a symbol of anti-U.S. resistance in Iraq, fueling violence that made April the deadliest month for American forces. We're under "intense international pressure" to do a whole bunch of things, all of which are grossly contrary to our interests. I understand the desire to Iraqify the battle, but if this handover includes the NW section where we have the jihadis cornered, then it has the makings of disaster. If this "Fallujah Protective Army" isn't 100% reliable and viciously thorough, then the jihadis will have a golden opportunity to declare victory--and I'm sure they'll use it. If Washington doesn't intervene I fear this may turn out to be the weekend we lost the war. Posted by: someone 2004-04-30 |
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