It certainly is AP.
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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Ineffective Iraqi Force in Fallouja Disbanded |
| 2004-09-11 |
| From The Los Angeles Times The Iraqi military force formed by the Marines in a last-ditch effort to pacify the restive city of Fallouja has been disbanded in the face of continuing violence, assaults on government security forces and evidence that some members have been working openly with insurgents. The dissolution of the Fallouja Brigade, created during the spring to avoid an all-out assault on the insurgent hotbed, marked a significant setback for the U.S. military. The Americans had hoped that the brigade, composed of former members of the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein's special security forces, would work alongside the new Iraqi government and help restore order. "The Fallouja Brigade is done, over," said Marine Col. Jerry L. Durrant, who oversees the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit's involvement with Iraqi security forces. "The whole Fallouja Brigade thing was a fiasco. Initially it worked out OK, but it wasn't a good idea for very long." .... With the demise of the Fallouja Brigade — agreed to by the interim Iraqi government and the Marines — the Marines are left with no attractive options for rooting out Fallouja's entrenched insurgency. The rebel movement has spread to surrounding villages and left the interim Iraqi government without control of one of the nation's largest cities west of Baghdad. Marines remain based as close as two miles from Fallouja, but the insurgents — local and foreign fighters backed by firebrand Sunni Muslim clerics — have had several months to dig in and make it more difficult for American troops or Iraqi government forces to launch a ground attack. ... Gen. Abdullah Hamid Wael, the brigade's latest leader, announced the dissolution Thursday night on instructions from the Defense Ministry. Speaking at an Iraqi military base west of Fallouja, Wael read from a ministry statement that said "any member of the brigade can, as an individual, join the Iraqi national guard or the Iraqi police." Discontent rippled through the group, many of whose members had hoped that it would remain intact and eventually become a unit of the new army. Judging by members' comments, it seemed likely that some would openly rejoin the insurgency, in which many had been involved before joining the brigade. In doing so, they would be able to fight with weapons provided to them by the Marines, who also paid them monthly salaries. .... In the end, most brigade members' prior allegiance to the insurgency proved impossible to sever. The brigade made no effort to restrict insurgent activities, members and the Marines said. Fallouja became even safer for insurgents, who could take refuge, plot attacks and run manufacturing centers for car bombs and other explosives. Made up of 1,600 former members of the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard, the brigade was formally created April 30. Four months later, as the brigade is dissolved, its members are better armed, better equipped and better off. Monthly wages ranged from $260 for low-level soldiers to $700 for generals, one of the brigade's staff officers said. The Marines also gave brigade members new semiautomatic rifles and vehicles and furnished a base for them. For much of the time, the brigade was technically under Marine command and its staff officers were in touch almost daily with Marine officers at Camp Fallouja on the outskirts of town. ... On a recent trip to Fallouja, it appeared that brigade members were mixing easily with insurgents. At several checkpoints, one or two Iraqi police officers lounged under small palapa huts with a brigade soldier as a couple of masked men with AK-47s leaned into each car looking for Westerners. Last week, several Fallouja Brigade members in uniform shot at Marines near the city limits and the Marines returned fire, Durrant said. From the brigade's inception, many members never fully disentangled themselves from the insurgent movement. Some expressed pride at the role they had played in fighting the Marines and boasted of their prowess in firing weapons. Although the Marines provided them with uniforms, most brigade members eschewed them in favor of the brown or olive green uniforms worn by the Iraqi armed forces under Hussein. ... Several members said they were angered by the dissolution. "This was a great violation to the members of the brigade by the American forces and the Iraqi interim government," said Maj. Ahmed Abed Abaas. "Dissolving the Fallouja Brigade, they broke the truce agreed upon last April when the Americans besieged Fallouja." |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #14 That brigade was a typical Zionist plot to turn brother against brother, but apparently the Iraqis have more loyalty toward their own than my people, the Serbs, who are more loyal to outsiders than their own. |
| Posted by: UFO 2004-09-11 3:49:26 PM |
| #13 "What should I plant in a Zionist Plot?" Yasser Arafat, of course. |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2004-09-11 11:52:48 PM |
| #12 So why isn't every officer and senior nco under arrest? Why wasn't the base surrounded and the troops disarmed? |
| Posted by: Raptor 2004-09-11 9:37:54 PM |
| #11 No SAM gonna mess with that Herc. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-11 6:48:56 PM |
| #10 "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind" It certainly is AP. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-09-11 6:46:38 PM |
| #9 The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind. And its name is JDAM. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-09-11 5:56:06 PM |
| #8 With the demise of the Fallouja Brigade — agreed to by the interim Iraqi government and the Marines — the Marines are left with no attractive options for rooting out Fallouja’s entrenched insurgency. On the contrary, they DO have an option. "When ya want a job done right, ya gotta do it yourself." |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-09-11 5:39:48 PM |
| #7 What should I plant in a Zionist Plot? Why, Jerusalem artichokes of course, Dar. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-11 4:49:41 PM |
| #6 typical for the LA Dog Trainer (via Patterico): With the demise of the Fallouja Brigade — agreed to by the interim Iraqi government and the Marines — the Marines are left with no attractive options for rooting out Fallouja’s entrenched insurgency The "unattractiveness" of the options are as seen only by the Zarqawi terrorists, their enablers (including the LLL Times et al), ex-Saddamites, and miscellaneous riff-raff who've got a taste of tank and artillery coming. Level the place. Make it a lesson. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-11 4:46:47 PM |
| #5 Article: Several members said they were angered by the dissolution. "This was a great violation to the members of the brigade by the American forces and the Iraqi interim government," said Maj. Ahmed Abed Abaas. "Dissolving the Fallouja Brigade, they broke the truce agreed upon last April when the Americans besieged Fallouja." So much for the folks who said we shouldn't have disbanded the Iraqi army. But you're never going to hear the liberal media talk about it. Instead, the focus is going to be on how the Fallujah truce was a mistake, forgetting that it was a test to see whether some of these hardcases were salvageable. Now that we know that they're not willing to work with the new government, they're going to have to be cleared out, one at a time. Fallujah's Baathists have had their chance. They are about to face the fate of Sadr's men. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-09-11 4:22:25 PM |
| #4 serfs are loyal to their pigs. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-11 4:07:01 PM |
| #3 I had a Communist Plot once. I grew red beets, red cabbage, and red onions. What should I plant in a Zionist Plot? |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-09-11 4:01:14 PM |
| #2 Zionist plot? That's original... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-09-11 3:52:02 PM |
| #1 [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted] |
| Posted by: UFO TROLL 2004-09-11 3:49:26 PM |