Posted on 05/02/2004 7:54:41 PM PDT by saquin
FALLUJA, Iraq, May 2 — A little over a week ago, 7,000 marines backed by artillery, tanks and deadly AC-130 gunships were poised for an all-out attack to rid this city of a stubborn insurgency, including an estimated force of several hundred foreign fighters.
Instead, apparently at the behest of political leaders and top commanders concerned about the consequences of such an assault on a town of 300,000 people, the marines entered an odd alliance with a former commander of the feared Republican Guard and his somewhat amorphous army. The marines' hope is to put an Iraqi face on control over the city that has become an Arab symbol of resistance to the occupation.
But just how muddled the situation has become was underlined Sunday when the general chosen by the Americans, Jasim Muhammad Saleh, declared that no foreign fighters were in the city after all.
"There are no foreign fighters in Falluja, and the local tribal leaders have told me the same," he told the Reuters news agency.
The situation became even more confused when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, went on Sunday morning television talk shows to say that General Saleh would not be in charge of the Iraqi force.
"My guess is, it will not be General Saleh," General Myers said on the ABC News Program "This Week." "It will not — he will not be their leader."
Only a day ago, the top Marine commander here, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, said at a news conference at the Marine base that General Saleh and his troops were ready to take on the foreign fighters.
"They understand our view that these people must be killed or captured," General Conway said.
The forces under General Saleh "have not flinched, and their commander has said as much to his officers in the last 36 hours," said General Conway, the commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, adding: "They have a plan. It is developing as they continue to develop their intelligence with more and more movement into the city."
But as fighters in Falluja celebrated what mosque loudspeakers hailed as "victory over the Americans," General Saleh said the whole problem was the fault of the Americans.
"The reasons for the resistance go back to the American provocations, the raids, and abolishing the army, which made Iraqis join the resistance," he told Reuters.
A onetime senior Iraqi officer fired and jailed by Saddam Hussein negotiated the alliance between the Americans and General Saleh. He was identified by Marine commanders as Muhammad Latif, a former staff colonel in intelligence who had fallen afoul of Mr. Hussein.
Apparently once a rising star, he had been sent to England for study, but on his return had been jailed for a half dozen years, they said. He may also have lived abroad in exile.
An older man wearing a well-cut, gray European-style suit, Mr. Latif was a clearly a figure of authority among the re-emerging generals in their old uniforms when glimpsed at meetings or just before climbing into a red Mitsubishi pickup truck at a roadblock the day the new Iraqi force came into existence.
"He is a kind of mentor to these people," General Conway said.
General Saleh had been a commander in the Republican Guard, which had special loyalty to Mr. Hussein, before being named to command the 38th Infantry Division. A former Republican Guard colonel said Sunday that he had served under General Saleh in the southern towns of Kut and Amara for seven months in 2000. Pentagon officials said Friday that General Saleh had not been in the Republican Guard.
"He is a good man, a strong man," the former officer said. "The people of Falluja respect him because he is from that area."
He is said to be recruiting his troops among former Iraqi soldiers in the city, although General Conway conceded that some of them might have been among the insurgents.
"These guys are not squeaky clean, but they are pretty clean," he said.
General Saleh's force, now named the First Battalion of the Falluja Brigade, is said to number around 300 men thus far, with plans to expand it to 1,000.
Under the agreement, two battalions of marines have withdrawn from their positions in the southern part of the city. Only the Second Battalion of the First Marines remains inside the city, in the tough Jolan neighborhood that is an insurgent stronghold.
A senior Marine officer said the marine withdrawal reduced the occupied part of the city to 10 percent, a "foothold," from 25 percent. The marines in Jolan were holding their fire despite the taunts of Iraqis.
Marine commanders of additional units who had been called in for reinforcements have been given word that they may be soon returning to Al Anbar Province, which stretches west of Baghdad to the Syrian border.
Marine commanders hope that their plan here will achieve their long-term goal of making Iraqis responsible for their own security, but concede that there are pitfalls. "There is no blueprint for this," a combat commander said.
Speaking of the new force, a senior officer said, "Let's be honest, this unit has not demonstrated any capability so far."
One drawback, he said, is that "we're giving up the chance to get a total solution to the foreign fighter thing." Such a situation could encourage resistance to the alliance, he said.
The insurgents, the officer said, could claim: "We fought the U.S. military machine to a standstill. Come join us. Get on the winning team."
".."There are no foreign fighters in Falluja, and the local tribal leaders have told me the same," he told the Reuters news agency..."
Gee, ya think?!? I just can't believe that the USMC is this naive.
"These guys are not squeaky clean, but they are pretty clean," he said.
What? What the heck is that?
It appears he does not have the strength to stay the course and do what needs to be done in order to fight this fight, WIN THIS WAR and gain the victory. Instead, like VIETNAM, the administration is more concerned about PC "politics" and reduced to half and quarter measures.
Our generals and boots on the field have to fight this war with one or both hands tied behind their backs so as to not offend the "Arab street". The terrorists in FALLUJA have proclaimed their "VICTORY" and Aljazera is broadcasting it all over the world. Putting a Bathist "general" in charge of rounding up Bathist terrorists is the height of STUPIDITY. Don't tell me there is a "plan", there ain't no "plan" they are trying to make this up as they go along and it STINKS!
As a Vietnam Vet, I am ASHAMED, it is like we have learned NOTHING from the lessons of Korea, Vietnam and the half-won Gulf War I. I believe we have about 2 weeks to straighten this mess out before it is genuinely FUBAR. If we lose in FALLUJA, we lose. America will be proven a "paper tiger" easily tamed and restrained by the threats of "The Arab street" and offending the world and the UN.
What has happened to the resolve the President once possessed and proclaimed when he stood before Congress and proclaimed his determination to do whatever it took to win the war on terrorism?
Looks like it to me.
We lost this one pretty badly. We did not lose on the field of battle. We lost in the political arena.
If we move quickly enough we may be able to salvage something, but there is no way this is anything but a disaster.
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