Iraq force to provide security for first convoy to Fallujah: Marines

AFP ^ | 5/1/04

[saquin]

A new force from the former Iraqi army will provide security for the first US convoy to pass through the flashpoint Sunni city of Fallujah in the coming days, a US commander said Saturday.

"In a few days we will have our first convoy go through the centre of Fallujah," said General James Conway, the commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

He said he expected the man leading the new Fallujah Brigade, Major General Jassem Mohammed Salah, to provide security for the convoy.

Conway said it was the "hope not the directive" for the convoy to pass through the town in the next few days from east to west.

The announcement came after a tentative deal was struck for the withdrawal of US troops from the city, with a group of up to 1,000 former soldiers from Saddam Hussein's army taking over some responsibility for security.

Shortly before the deal was struck, US marines were ready to storm the city, Conway told reporters at the nearby marine base.

"At one point we truly thought we had no reasonable option that would preclude an attack on the city but orders changed and this opportunity came up at about the same time," he said.

Marines withdrew Friday from many of their positions after a month-long fight that has killed scores of US troops and hundreds of Iraqis including women and children.

The US military denied they were retreating, despite soldiers packing away barbed wire defences and rolling back from a base within the city.

The commander for US forces in Iraq and the Middle East, General John Abizaid, cautioned the plan might not immediately end the violence.

[saquin]

I guess we'll know in a few days if this Iraqi General can deliver. If not... maybe it's time for the Marines to take some tougher measures.

[DHerion]

If this Iraqi General goes in strong, using Saddam-lite tactics, the people in Falluja may want the Marines back. I would think he will want to show everyone he can keep order - it's his one opportunity to become a major player in the future Iraq.

[MediaMole]

This Iraqi General may end up as "our SOB" if the experiment in democracy fails.

I still think we may end up with a "Federal Republic" -- partitioning Iraq into Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite states.

[Owen]

It is important to know just what the Iraqi general's orders are. Is he going to start patrolling the city and arresting anyone who is found with a heavy weapon? Or is he going to ignore them and declare an absence of violence to be success? Actually, even the second option works. Fallujah can't exist without an economy and it won't have an economy unless it bows to the US defined Iraqi authority that runs the country.

[jolie560]

How stupid can we be?...

..."...our first convoy go through the centre of Fallujah."...

Sure, more sitting ducks, we will be. Al-Jazeera will be right there with the videos, so stay tuned.

[gonzo]

"...It is important to know just what the Iraqi general's orders are. Is he going to start patrolling the city and arresting anyone who is found with a heavy weapon? Or is he going to ignore them and declare an absence of violence to be success? Actually, even the second option works. Fallujah can't exist without an economy and it won't have an economy unless it bows to the US defined Iraqi authority that runs the country..."

Owen, what's important is that as many islamaniacs-as-possible get dead in Fallujah as-soon-as-possible!

Getting these bastards to gather together so we can kill them in quantity has been like herding kittens.

Who gives a rats-ass about Fallujah. We should salt the ground and soak it in swine-fat!

Hey, Jeff! Good to see ya saquin and Mole!.................FRegards

[saquin]

I'm sure we'll be ready with tanks and air support. If, God forbid, there's an attack, it will just show that the Iraqi forces can't provide adequate security and will provide a pretense for a renewed Marine offensive.

If there is no attack... all the better.

[Texasforever]

Sure, more sitting ducks, we will be. Al-Jazeera will be right there with the videos, so stay tuned.

Somehow I don't think the Marines are that trusting. Do you?

[jocko12]

DUMB IDEA.

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

'We Won': Fallujah Rejoices in Withdrawal

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&ncid=716&e=18&u=/washpost/20040502/ts_washpost/a59357_2004may1

[Shooter 2.5]

It seems no one has asked the question of what's in the convoy.

[phothus]

Not as stupid as you think. From what I've read, the center of the city isn't where the action is anyway. That part has been pretty much controlled by the Marines for quite some time. The insurgents have been pushed into a dense corner of the city and it's likely that the move to bring in the Iraqis is a way to counteract the charges of brutality if we bulldoze houses and use intense fire to bring them out. Check out www.belmontclub.com for some really insightful info on what's really happening there. Remember, little or nothing the media has said on this war has been accurate and they aren't likely to up their record in Fallujah.

[vbmoneyspender]

"At one point we truly thought we had no reasonable option that would preclude an attack on the city but orders changed and this opportunity came up at about the same time," he said.

I wonder who changed the orders - Bush, Rumsfeld, Bremer, Abizaid or Sanchez?

[Texasforever]

'We Won': Fallujah Rejoices in Withdrawal

Oh big deal.

[Antoninus]

How stupid can we be?... ..."...our first convoy go through the centre of Fallujah."...

Have you been following this at all? We occupy almost all of Fallujah as it is. The jihadi's are cordoned off in a single neighborhood callled "The Golan." I have yet to see any news source which indicates that the jihadis are free to leave the city or the cordoned off area at all. Have you?

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

It wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't true, but it is. We better get in there and win this thing soon.

We definitely haven't won yet and I don't see anything that makes me believe we are going to take the city, so I guess they did win. We should have had complete control over Fallujah a long time ago. Some people look for anything to believe this isn't a politicized war. The fact is we should have taken over Fallujah by now no matter what strategy we used. If Americans don't have complete control over Fallujah we can't get the terrorist insurgents inside the city. If we can't get the terrorist insurgents inside the city then we lost.

[McGavin999]

I would imagine there might be some pretty important people in that convoy......to the Iraqi general.

[mikegi]

I wonder who changed the orders - Bush, Rumsfeld, Bremer, Abizaid or Sanchez?

Previously, the CPA and higher ups denied even knowing about the deal. No one wants to take responsibility for this tar baby.

[McGavin999]

Nobody has mentioned what we expect this general to do about the foreign terrorists.

[oceanview]

well, you can spin it as a negative. but it appears to be true - the Marines on the ground were able to cobble together a deal for cooperation that the politicos could not. one of Bremer's biggest mistakes was dismissing the iraqi regular army; not the special republican guard or the secret police or the fedayeen, but just the regular army. had we simply paid their salaries and organized them as part of the security forces, we'd be in better shape now.

this deal is certainly not without risks, it could turn out badly, but conceptually its a step in the right direction. let's see how it goes.