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WaPo on possible Fallujah deal
More on how and if this will go down; the rest chopped. A bit long anyway, sorry.The surprise agreement in Fallujah, which was authorized by Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, is intended to give more responsibility to Iraqis for subduing the city while attempting defuse tensions by pulling Marines back from front-line positions. But some U.S. military and civilian officials privately expressed concern that Conway's strategy involves too hasty a retreat and relies too heavily on Iraqis whose combat skills and allegiances have not been fully examined. Yup. It is not clear whether Conway conveyed the terms of the deal to his superiors in Baghdad and at the Pentagon, or even to leaders of the U.S. occupation authority. One person familiar with the deal said it took senior U.S. military and civilian officials in Baghdad by surprise. Because of the apparent lack of consultation, some officials said elements of the agreement, particularly the speedy troop withdrawal, may be tempered by the Pentagon or by the U.S. Central Command. There has to be a sane person somewhere. "It's very confusing right now," a senior Pentagon official said. "There's a disconnect here and we can't figure it out." The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Larry DiRita, said Marine commanders have considerable authority to negotiate deals within certain "broad objectives," including bringing to justice those Iraqis responsible for the killing and mutilation in Fallujah of four civilian U.S. security contractors. The objectives involve ensuring that Fallujah is not "left in the hands of the former regime elements and whoever else" is in league with them. Makes sense. Now here's the kicker: Under the deal, Marine battalions stationed in and around Fallujah will begin pulling away from the city over the next several days. In addition to giving up front-line positions inside Fallujah -- some of which were gained only after Marines suffered significant casualties during fighting this month -- the Marines also will lift their cordon around the city of 200,000. !!! Ahmed Hardan, a physician who led a group of Fallujah residents in earlier negotiations with U.S. forces, said on the al-Arabiya that the latest deal calls for U.S. troops to move out of the city's southern neighborhoods by early Saturday and to leave the northern part of Fallujah (where the baddies are) beginning Sunday. Of course, everything you hear on al-Arabiya is true... The Fallujah Protection Army will be subordinate to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and report directly to Conway. The deal also could exploit any divisions among Sunni insurgents in the city, which appear to be growing, according to Marine officers. Having them shoot each other would be nice. But we should still stick around and shoot whomever's left. Posted by: someone 2004-04-30 |
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