Marines Encircle Fallouja (Operation Valiant Resolve commencing)

LA Times ^ | 4-4-04 | Tony Perry and Edmund Sanders

[BurbankKarl]

FALLOUJA, Iraq — Thousands of Marines surrounded this anti-American stronghold early today in preparation for a complex raid to retake control of the city and apprehend those responsible for last week's slayings of four U.S. security contractors.

The highly anticipated action, dubbed Operation Valiant Resolve, was expected to be one of the biggest military offensives since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government a year ago.

All roads leading to this city of 300,000 were cut off and barricaded with tanks and concertina wire. Working through the cold and windy desert night, under a large moon, Marines set up camps for detainees and residents who might flee any fighting. Before dawn, several Marine positions were hit by mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard throughout the city.

[Triple Word Score]

Amen to that!

Nobody has posted a map as of your post. Here's a link:

http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iraq/maps/260-A3_Fallujah_us_military_15k.jpg

If anybody cares.

Let us remember, so long as we don't let 10 year old kids kick the corpses, we are better than they are and nobody can say otherwise.

We need Hama rules for this one.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

They saw "Blackhawk Down" and so did we. I think that's one reason why it took a while to get everything in place. These marines will have almost unlimitied armor, artillery, and air support when they do go in. What should really scare the bad guys is if we back out, because they're really not going to like what happens next.

[LdSentinal]

Your keyboard and computer screen must have super abilities to kill our enemies.

I salute your bravery.

[Getsmart64]

LOL....he said my post were being removed....sheesh....unlike most of you guys...I'm reading EVERY post...just not mine and their responses....

[McGavin999]

I read them all too. There are too many good brains on this thread to risk missing anything.

[BurbankKarl]

well, the Houston Chronicle, Seattle Times and Newsday have it also....

[church16]

LOL. Yeah, you ain't kidding.... I was for the mad rush to Fallujah at first, but thats why I'm not a Lt General. I'm glad they're smarter.

[McGavin999]

I've been watching that guy for a very long time. Basically, he's little more than a punk. He has no real respect because he's what is considered a very junior cleric. Al Sistani is the heavyweight in that area and he's strongly in support of a secular government.

[Triple Word Score]

If AP had known about the WTC the day before, they'd have put their freaking cameras on the buildings and interviewed the terrorists.

"How do you FEEL? Are you scared? Do you really think you can murder ten thousand people and more? What are your targets in detail? Oh, don't worry, this is entirely protected communication, we don't have to divulge our sources...."

[Getsmart64]

"Did some reading on Sadr"

But his daddy was a bigwig with the ragheads....

[Travis McGee]

The IDF has been at this for years. Think of Fallujah as Gaza. "Separating the wheat from the chaff" with infantry sounds great from afar, but in reality, it's looking for a needle in a firecracker-haystack loaded with IED boobytraps. The IDF has tried every tactic you can think of, and the best one in terms of results gained is the pin point missile attack against the enemy leadership.

Remember, the enemy WANTS to lure us into a "Jenin Massacre" situation. That's their GOAL. They will be thrilled if we kill 100s of them, if they can only kill a few dozen of our Marines, and film their bodies in the street.

They will be even more thrilled if we accidentally cause patently innocent civilian deaths, especially women and children. In fact, they will blow up their own women and children, if they can blame it on us. And those "burning baby" pictures will be THE pictures that are remembered, no matter who torched the kiddies.

That's why the IDF pits their strength against their enemy's weakness. Pay good $$ for good intell on specific enemy leaders, then kill them from the air. To me, this is preferable to giving the enemy their desired "Jenin Massacre" TV footage.

[saquin]

That's a pretty good map, but this one I posted earlier is pretty dam good, too:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/images/fallujah-map.jpg

[tubavil]

NPR would have brought in culturally-sensitive halal meat right into Studio 3B.

[Triple Word Score]

Hey, the President has done or at least proposed everything I advised him to do before. ;-)

This time he's just anticipating me!

I believe it will happen and we will get word. It fits the Bush doctrine. Sitting back and doing nothing didn't fit the Bush doctrine, just the Clinton doctrine (that the Spanish have decided to embrace....)

[noutopia]

Some people on this site turn my stomach.Some that have served know how it is to go to war,others brag about it,poor state our country is in.

[Getsmart64]

Dude....11B is infantry...not sure what the 10 shred is....Dragon's??

[John Lenin]

Not a single cable news channel is covering it, yet.

[Getsmart64]

thanx....lol

[Robert_Paulson2]

Kind of a nasty way to respect a navy seal...
I don't know any 82nd Airborne men,
who have that kind of attitude towards the seals.

Welcome to FreeRepublic... newbie.

[MEG33]

I'm not missing a word.I feel like I'm back in the Situation room during major combat,with no Bag Cam,embed reporters,Centcom briefings and a total news blackout.

I know something will be done,I am not sure we are aware of when..."We will hunt down the criminals,we will catch them or kill them and pacify Fallujah"...Gen Kimmett.