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2004-05-26 Iraq-Jordan

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Posted by Fred 2004-05-26 14:25|| || Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Who was the asshat who brokered the Marine withdrawl? Does anybody know? State Department suits?

Posted by Jim K 2004-05-26 2:29:40 PM|| 2004-05-26 2:29:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 As Tater quickly learned, nothing makes the locals want Americans around more than a few weeks of religious dictatorship.

Posted by someone 2004-05-26 2:32:51 PM|| 2004-05-26 2:32:51 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Should the Marines find that they have to engage Fallujah again, they had BETTER raze it to the ground and kill all the "mujahedeen" they come across. In the meantime, I'm perfectly satisfied to let the situation deteriorate on it's own, as long as it gets as much exposure as possible.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-05-26 2:46:23 PM|| 2004-05-26 2:46:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 It was MAJ GEN Mattis. The same guy who relieved COL Dowding for not going fast enough and endangering his men on the drive to Bahgdad.

Posted by anymouse 2004-05-26 3:30:17 PM|| 2004-05-26 3:30:17 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Anymouse,
Thanks for the update.

So General Mattis did not want his men endangered by fighting in Fajulah? This pull back makes no sense.

Posted by Jim K 2004-05-26 3:47:47 PM|| 2004-05-26 3:47:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 This story doesn't track with what the Marines and the CPA are saying about Fallujah. First, I thought that the Marines still maintain a cordon around Fallujah to control entry and exit and will remain for the foreseeable future. Second, I thought that just a few days ago the Marines presented the Fallujah Brigade with the names and pictures of the criminals wanted for the murder and mutilation of the four American contractors. The clear point being, find these guys or we will. Third, I thought that there was a considerable to-do about heavy weapons starting to be turned in. What am I missing in this picture that makes this a victory for the jihadis? that some of them are still alive? If they think they won, tell them to cowboy up and try to leave Fallujah and ask them again after the Marines hand them their assorted body parts.

All in all, I think this a propaganda hit piece.

Posted by RWV 2004-05-26 4:31:16 PM|| 2004-05-26 4:31:16 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 RWV hits it. The article is propoganda. The Marines are still there, from everyhthing I hear. What the fundos are doing is terrorizing the locals, trying to strenghthen / maintain their foothold. I'd love to see it backfire as it did with Tater.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2004-05-26 5:09:36 PM|| 2004-05-26 5:09:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 It sounds like Fallujah is sorta quarantined and the fundos are making smoke, but are still inside cordon. The jihadis cannot beat the marines, so they do what they do best and that is beat their gums. At least I hope that this is what is happening. If we let them call the shots, we lose this one. Remember that negotiation with these clowns is seen as a sign of weakness on our part. Sure would like to hear the Marine side of the story.

Posted by Alaska Paul In Nikolaevsk, Alaska 2004-05-26 5:18:00 PM|| 2004-05-26 5:18:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Fred, I don't have a link, but I think Wretchard at Belmont Club had a history of Fallujah up a while back.

Fuzzily remembered facts: Fallujah's population is in the hundreds of thousands range today, but was less than 10,000 at the close of WW2. It's on the main route between Baghdad and Syria, and was probably an old caravan stop; I've forgotten what the name was, but Qom, a similar caravan stop further west, means "the tents."

It had grown a lot, especially in the years following the first gulf war, thanks to trade (official or surreptitious) with Syria.

Let me see if I can find it...

Ah, here it is.

Posted by Phil Fraering 2004-05-26 6:30:55 PM|| [http://newsfromthefridge.typepad.com] 2004-05-26 6:30:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Several here bothered to actually read the piece, and also cranked in other things they knew about the situation, yielding the reasonable conclusion that this article is full of it. Just read it by itself. It's a mini-classic of the new genre of bad, distorted, poorly reasoned, upside-down "journalism." The headline and leading claims of the article aren't borne out in the rest of it. Just today I again saw someone (a hawkish type, it usually is) moaning about Fallujah becoming a "symbol of resistance." Yeah, right. That's what's inspired all those revolts across Iraq. Oops, there aren't any, and Chubs is on his last legs down south. The scariest thing right now, aside from the world gone stupid in general, is to see so many folks who had a clue about the war lose their bearings and become almost as lost as the likes of Zinni or Kerry or Carter. Rigorous thought, an attention to actual facts and not myths, and a tiny bit of backbone will be required to relieve this condition, I hope those afflicted will manage to come up with these.

Posted by Verlaine 2004-05-26 6:38:35 PM|| 2004-05-26 6:38:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Mini-Islamic State? With the capture of Sadr's brother-in-law, Mookie is not far behind...

Do you like pink or lavender pants on your head, Mookie.

Posted by BigEd 2004-05-26 6:55:10 PM|| 2004-05-26 6:55:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 I'd like to see Fallujah emerge as a minimall parking lot.

Posted by tu3031 2004-05-26 8:19:05 PM|| 2004-05-26 8:19:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Tu, that's on the list right below Riyadh (or would Ridyah be a better way of putting it?).

Posted by The Doctor 2004-05-26 8:22:05 PM|| 2004-05-26 8:22:05 PM|| Front Page Top

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