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| Iraq |
| Is Falluja Next? |
| 2007-03-15 |
| The Iraqi newspaper al-Mada, which has recently been at the forefront in reporting the news of the “retreat” of al-Qa'ida from al-Anbar, has published another front-page article claiming that Al-Qa'ida is now facing in Falluja the same form of opposition that had forced its retreat from other Anbari cities. Al-Mada quoted unnamed “sources” (perhaps the same sources that had informed the paper about events in Hit and Ramadi in the last weeks) who told the newspaper that al-Qa'ida is “in its death throes” in Falluja. Falluja is seen by Iraqis and Americans alike as a bastion of opposition to the US occupation and the pro-American Iraqi government. Eliminating al-Qa'ida from the city, or even significantly weakening it, would be seen as a major step in depriving al-Qa'ida from its safe havens in Iraq. Al-Qa'ida is resorting to harsher tactics as its popularity plummets in Anbar, claimed al-Mada. Among those new methods is the liquidation of ex-supporters who have left the organization, and different forms of collective punishment against communities that ally themselves with al-Qa'ida’s enemies. As expected, al-Mada heralded Maliki’s visit to Ramadi, Anbar’s capital, yesterday as a sign of the faltering of al-Qa'ida. The newspaper said that the visit was “the last nail in al-Qa'ida’s coffin..." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #8 Zen, my impression is that our November '04 op in Fallujah pretty much did what you called for above. At least something pretty close. Chief problem I recall is that we didn't seal the area off effectively before the party, and many of the most important guests weren't on hand. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-03-15 23:25 |
| #7 From what I understand we never left enough troops in Falluja to keep the town. Zen nice to hear from you! Oddly enough the Blackwater video is the most popular one on the Minnesota Troops Support web site. Those burned bodies left a bitter taste. |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2007-03-15 17:57 |
| #6 Falluja should have been cordoned off, emptied of all voluntary departees (with the detention of any fighting age males), then progressively flattened. Those burnt bodies hanging from that bridge deserved nothing less. Had we done so then, we probably would never have encountered so much downstream resistance there or anywhere else. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-15 15:14 |
| #5 Well, maybe in a very perverted way, the dems have helped us. It got the President off his duff and got some life-saving changes into ops in Iraq that are starting to get results. I said, maybe....and I don't recommend that we do business this way with the dems. Like I said, perverted. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2007-03-15 14:14 |
| #4 That is the problem with roaches doc. You cant just yell "Trick or Treat" at them, you have to kill them and spray their home with a persistent pesticide that keeps killing for at least 8 months. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-03-15 07:59 |
| #3 As expected, al-Mada heralded MalikiÂ’s visit to Ramadi, AnbarÂ’s capital, yesterday as a sign of the faltering of al-Qa'ida. Damn straight. A year ago, I went to Ramadi in a convoy that included M-1 tanks, those tracked amphib things, and a couple of F-16s flying shotgun. We were still shot at and a 6x6 truck was blown up by an IED. (Did see some AQ hajis vaporized by a 120mm canister round, an ugly but heartwarming sight.) Malaki's willingness to show his face there is graphic evidence of progress against AQ and the insurgency in general, especially since it results largely from a dramatic increase in local opposition to the terror-scum. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2007-03-15 06:55 |
| #2 Ya know, maybe the Dem shenanigans are having a positive effect? Either the locals are getting on board, or the Dems are driving them to get on board? No, I believe the Dems are just being ignored by everyone except the enemy. The locals must be finally fed up with the insurgent shenanigans! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-03-15 06:50 |
| #1 Wait ... didn't we clear out Falluja already? That's the problem with roaches - they come back. The clear part is certainly easier than the hold. Getting the locals on board is critical. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-03-15 06:39 |