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US Offensive in Fallujah intensifies
DW -World.DE ^ | 4-6-04

Posted on 04/06/2004 6:51:06 AM PDT by TexKat

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1 posted on 04/06/2004 6:51:06 AM PDT by TexKat
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To: TexKat
Its going to be very bloody. If we have to kill thousands to save the area, so be it. A war is no place for the faint of heart, the squeamish and the cowardly.
2 posted on 04/06/2004 6:55:08 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: TexKat; AntiGuv; Ragtime Cowgirl; B4Ranch; MeekOneGOP
Fallujah ping.
3 posted on 04/06/2004 6:56:28 AM PDT by Happy2BMe (U.S.A. - - United We Stand - - Divided We Fall - - Support Our Troops - - Vote BUSH)
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To: All

Donate Here By Secure Server

4 posted on 04/06/2004 6:57:02 AM PDT by Support Free Republic (Freepers post from sun to sun, but a fundraiser bot's work is never done.)
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To: TexKat
We should notify the town of Fallejah that we are going to drop a 2000lb bomb in it sometime in the near future but don't tell them when or where. See if they like surprises.
5 posted on 04/06/2004 6:57:37 AM PDT by Piquaboy
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To: Piquaboy
Like the "surprise" they showed us last week? Yeah I think the poetic justice of it would be fitting. When its all over, any one left alive is gonna remember what America is REALLY made of and no one will mistake Yanks for Nice Guys again. Our motto after all is, "Don't Tread On Me."
6 posted on 04/06/2004 7:00:11 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: TexKat
I just pray for the safety of our guys and the other brave international troops out there who are willing to fight for what is right.
7 posted on 04/06/2004 7:03:29 AM PDT by LoudRepublicangirl (loudrepublicangirl)
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To: MEG33; txradioguy
8 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq Violence

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer

FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. troops battled guerrillas Tuesday on the edges of Fallujah, where hundreds of Marines and Iraqi troops have surrounded one of Iraq's most violent cities in an operation to crush the insurgency there. The military reported five Marines were killed and two wounded in the operation, which was more than 24 hours old.

With the Marines engaged in fighting around Fallujah, there was more violence in northern Baghdad in which three soldiers died Monday and Tuesday.

The U.S.-led coalition remained in a standoff with anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose supporters and militias were responsible for clashes throughout the country over the weekend.

In a series of U.S. television interviews Tuesday, L. Paul Bremer, the top civilian administrator in Iraq, conceded not all was going smoothly as the coalition approached a June 30 handover of sovereignty to the Iraqis.

"We have problems, there's no hiding that. But basically Iraq is on track to realize the kind of Iraq that Iraqis want and Americans want, which is a democratic Iraq," Bremer said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

But he said continuing disturbances would not affect the American handover schedule.

"June 30 is the date. We're going to stick to it," he said.

The military did not give details on the five deaths, saying only that they occurred in Anbar province, home to Fallujah. Witnesses reported another American had been killed in Tuesday's fighting, but that report could not immediately be confirmed.

The deaths in the past two days brought to at least 614 the number of Americans killed in Iraq since the war began.

The bulk of the coalition force has remained on Fallujah's edge, apparently held at bay by tough resistance from anti-American fighters against Marine forays probing the outskirts.

American commanders have vowed to root out insurgents after last week's slaying and mutilation of four American civilians. Scenes of Iraqis dragging charred bodies through the streets and hanging two of them from a bridge Wednesday raised revulsion in the United States and showed the depth of anti-U.S. sentiment in the city.

The assault on Fallujah, west of Baghdad, coincides with a tougher U.S. stand on the fiercely anti-American al-Sadr, who has built up a private militia, the al-Mahdi Army.

U.S. officials have suggested they will move soon to arrest al-Sadr, who announced Tuesday he left a mosque in the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad, where he has been holed up since Sunday. He is surrounded by militiamen pledging to resist any attempt to capture him.

Al-Sadr moved to his office in the nearby city of Najaf, in an alley near the city's holiest shrine, according to a top aide, Sheik Qays al-Khaz'ali.

Asked if al-Sadr would resist if U.S. forces try to arrest him, al-Khaz'ali replied: "God forbid if this happens, al-Sayed will win martyrdom."

Al-Khaz'ali quoted al-Sadr as saying, "My fate will be either assassination or arrested."

In a statement released earlier, al-Sadr said he was moving to avoid bloodshed in a mosque. "I feared that the sanctity of a glorious and esteemed mosque would be violated by scum and evil people," he said. The Americans "will have no qualms to embark on such actions."

"I have pledged not to allow a drop of blood to be shed except my own," al-Sadr said. "I'm prepared to have my own blood shed for what is holy to me."

Al-Sadr's militiamen clashed with coalition troops Sunday in Baghdad and outside the city of Najaf, to the south, in fierce fighting that killed 61 people, including eight American soldiers. Clashes also broke out Monday in a northern Baghdad neighborhood.

The deaths of the three U.S. soldiers announced Tuesday occurred in a neighborhood near the scene of Monday's fighting, but the military did not release details.

The confrontation with al-Sadr and the offensive against Fallujah appeared to be a tougher approach by U.S. forces ahead of the June 30 handover.

After Sunday's violence, Bremer canceled a trip to Washington this week, a Senate aide said Monday. No reason was given, the aide said.

A senior officer in Washington said U.S. military commanders have begun studying ways they might increase troops in Iraq should violence spread.

Generals believe they have enough forces to handle the attacks, including the Shiite militia violence, but want to know what is available if the situation gets worse, said the officer, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.

In Fallujah, explosions and gunfire were heard from the city through the night Monday and into Tuesday morning, apparently U.S. troops shelling targets and clashing with guerrillas as Marines probed the outskirts with reconnaissance patrols.

A force of Marines pushed into an eastern neighborhood, clashing with guerrillas Tuesday. Gunmen carrying automatic weapons were seen in the streets. Guerrilla fire set one vehicle ablaze, said a witness, Issam Mahmoud, who said a soldier inside was killed. There was no immediate confirmation of the death.

Troops broke into houses in the neighborhood, carrying out searches, and entered a mosque, witnesses said.

U.S. troops waiting on the northern edge of Fallujah for orders to move in came under fire from nearby houses Tuesday, wounding two Marines. Tanks and Humvees moved into the neighborhood where the fire came from, and the sound of tank fire was later heard.

The military reported six Iraqis killed in fighting Monday, saying all were guerrillas, though residents said five of them were killed when helicopters hit a residential area.

In the nearby city of Ramadi, another hotbed of guerrilla activity 24 miles west of Fallujah, U.S. troops and insurgents clashed on a downtown street. One Iraqi was killed and three wounded, doctors said.

The offensive against Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad, targets Sunni Muslim insurgents who have been waging a campaign of violence against U.S. forces and their allies for months.

The showdown with al-Sadr could increase tensions with Iraq's Shiite majority, although most Shiites reject the 30-year-old al-Sadr as a renegade and look to older, more moderate clerics for leaderships. U.S. officials appear to be counting on Shiites not to rally around al-Sadr if they move against him.

Violence continued Tuesday in two southern cities.

Al-Sadr supporters clashed Tuesday with British troops in the southern city of Amarah, and witnesses reported seeing Iraqis killed in the fight. British officials had no immediate comment.

Gunmen attacked Italian forces in the southern city of Nasiriyah on Tuesday, wounding 12 troops, the Italian Ministry of Defense in Rome said in a statement.

It said the assailants fired on the soldiers as they were patrolling a bridge over the Euphrates River. The soldiers returned fire and it was not clear if any of the attackers suffered casualties.

8 posted on 04/06/2004 7:05:11 AM PDT by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: TexKat
There is one quick solution to Fallujah:



 
 


 
 

9 posted on 04/06/2004 7:08:05 AM PDT by Johnny Gage (God Bless our Firefighters, our Police, our EMS responders, and our Veterans)
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To: TexKat
It's going as predicted by Freeper Wretchard

http://belmontclub.blogspot.com/2004_04_01_belmontclub_archive.html#108115287932211023

summary
The press will say the Marines are 'scared' to enter fallujah - truth is they are keeping a wide encirclement and feinting to draw the terrrorists out of the city center, force them into a mobile defense to keep an ever shrinking perimiter, and wear them out.
10 posted on 04/06/2004 7:08:38 AM PDT by adam_az (Call your state Republican party office and VOLUNTEER FOR A CAMPAIGN!!!)
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To: Johnny Gage

11 posted on 04/06/2004 7:11:15 AM PDT by The Mayor (God is the only King who can never be defeated.)
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To: Happy2BMe; B4Ranch
It's encouraging to see that falujah has been upgraded from yesterday's reports of a "restive town" to today, a "flashpoint town." I wonder if the presence of a division of our finest had anything to do with that...

"former town" has a nice ring
12 posted on 04/06/2004 7:12:08 AM PDT by glock rocks (Only YOU can stop fundraisers. Small monthly donations from each of us can do it !!)
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To: Piquaboy
Sounds fun. Let's "suprise" all those babies in the crib right?
13 posted on 04/06/2004 7:12:59 AM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: All
Radical Iraqi Cleric Leaves Mosque

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

KUFA, Iraq - A radical Shiite cleric sought by U.S. forces said Tuesday he left the fortress-like mosque where he has been holed up for days, surrounded by armed supporters. Muqtada al-Sadr, in a statement released by his office, did not say where he had gone.

The United States declared al-Sadr an "outlaw" after his militiamen battled coalition troops Sunday in Baghdad and outside Najaf in fights that killed 61 people — including eight U.S. soldiers.

U.S. officials announced an arrest warrant against al-Sadr on Monday, suggesting they would move soon to detain him.

Al-Sadr supporters clashed Tuesday with British troops in the southern city of Amarah, and witnesses reported seeing Iraqis killed in the fight. British officials had no immediate comment.

Since Sunday, al-Sadr was in the main mosque in the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad, with dozens of militiamen outside vowing to resist any U.S. attempt to arrest him. But in a statement released by his office in the nearby city of Najaf, al-Sadr said he had left the mosque, fearing it would be damaged in an assault.

"I feared that the sanctity of a glorious and esteemed mosque would be violated by scum and evil people," he said. The Americans "will have no qualms to embark on such actions."

Al-Sadr did not say in the statement where he had gone, but he took a defiant tone, saying he was willing to "shed my own blood" for Iraq and denouncing President Bush, who said Monday that al-Sadr aimed at wrecking democracy in Iraq.

"I would like to direct my words to the father of evil, Bush," al-Sadr said. "Who is against democracy? Is it the one who calls for peaceful resistance or the one who bombs people, sheds their blood and leads them away from the leaders under feeble and dirty pretexts?"

Al-Sadr, a fiery 30-year-old cleric, frequently denounces the U.S. occupation in his sermons and has built up his own militia, the al-Mahdi Army, though he has avoided calling for attacks on U.S. troops.

The arrest warrant was issued on charges al-Sadr was involved in the slaying of a rival cleric last year.

The arrest of an aide to al-Sadr last week on the same charges prompted widespread protests by al-Sadr supporters that turned into heavy gunbattles in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City and outside Najaf.

14 posted on 04/06/2004 7:13:06 AM PDT by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: TexKat
May God hold these brave men close and comfort their loved ones.I hate it when I read of more death.May God watch over our forces.I am humbled by their service.
15 posted on 04/06/2004 7:13:36 AM PDT by MEG33 (John Kerry's been AWOL for two decades on issues of National Security!)
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To: TexKat
"The bulk of the coalition force has remained on Fallujah's edge, apparently held at bay by tough resistance from anti-American fighters against Marine forays probing the outskirts."

AP make poor military analysts.

The goal isn't to advance as rapidly as possible, it's to advance in a way that has the lowest cost to your forces and the greatest cost to the enemy.

The enemy defenders have a small number of troops and no resupply and square miles to defend.

They have to move them around rapidly to defend against Marine probing attacks and feints. Thanks to the our electronic warfare guys, they now have no communication and will experience rapid loss of cohesion and breakdown. Then it's a turkey shoot.

Remember the "quagmire" when we took Baghdad? "US forces scared to enter Baghdad!" BS! Our guys fight on their terms, not on the enemies terms.
16 posted on 04/06/2004 7:14:01 AM PDT by adam_az (Call your state Republican party office and VOLUNTEER FOR A CAMPAIGN!!!)
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To: goldstategop
>Its going to be very bloody. If we have to kill thousands to save the area, so be it. A war is no place for the faint of heart, the squeamish and the cowardly.

No, but such people
call the media their home.
These media days,

no politician
will "kill thousands" in any
single offensive.

The politician
would be a "war criminal"
the rest of his life

to the media,
regardless of the context
of the offensive.

17 posted on 04/06/2004 7:17:33 AM PDT by theFIRMbss
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To: adam_az
Fox News reporting that they are getting word that a massive fight going on in the northern part of Fallujah.

Incorrect report of the location of 4 Marines killed in Fallujah. These 4 Marines were killed by a improvised explosive according to Fox News.

18 posted on 04/06/2004 7:18:07 AM PDT by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: TexKat

Breaking

Shiite militias in Nassiriah give 2 hours ultimatum to italians to leave the city
19 posted on 04/06/2004 7:20:10 AM PDT by Truth666
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To: LoudRepublicangirl
I just pray for the safety of our guys and the other brave international troops out there who are willing to fight for what is right.

This Marine dad joins you in prayer.

20 posted on 04/06/2004 7:20:18 AM PDT by Ben Chad
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