U.S. Must Leave Falluja, Iraq General Says

Reuters ^ | Thu, May 06, 2004 | Michael Georgy

[Eurotwit]

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - The Iraqi former general entrusted with pacifying volatile Falluja said on Thursday U.S. Marines must withdraw quickly from around the troubled town and go home so stability can be restored.

"I want the American soldier to return to his camp. What I want more is that he returns to the United States," General Muhammad Latif told Reuters in an interview.

"They should leave very quickly, very quickly or there will be problems. If they stay it will hurt the confidence and we have built confidence. They should leave so that there will be more calm."

Latif and a group of generals offered to tame Falluja with their Falluja Brigade after the town was subject to a month-long siege in which hundreds of Iraqis died as U.S. air strikes and guerrilla mortars rocked the town.

Life has been calm over the last few days, but Marines are still on the edge of the Golan area of Falluja, where the heaviest fighting took place, manning checkpoints with Iraqi security forces under Latif's command.

Major General James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marines Division, said on Thursday after meeting Latif the Marines would maintain a presence around Falluja until certain security requirements were met.

"At some point, I am sure we will pull back if the foreign fighters are confirmed and turned over to us, the heavy weapons are turned over to the Iraqi army and then we get them. It is event driven," he said.

But Latif said there was no need for them to stay because Falluja was peaceful.

"I am confident they will leave in a few days," he said.

Wearing a European-style suit and tie, Latif has been meeting top Marine commanders to discuss ways of imposing security in Iraq (news - web sites)'s most rebellious city.

On Thursday, he appeared with four other Iraqi former generals, pointing out that one of them was a Shi'ite, a suggestion that his force in mostly Sunni Falluja would be mixed.

TORTURED UNDER SADDAM

Latif denied reports he had worked for Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s intelligence service.

"I never worked for the Mukhabarat at all. Saddam threw me in jail the first day he came to power for a period of seven years. I had two hands broken by Saddam. My arm and shoulder were broken due to torture under Saddam," he said.

"I was innocent except for the fact that I stood against a dictatorship. When I served in the special forces I had some information on Saddam, his brother and family. They hated me very much."

Saddam is gone but Iraq's problems are multiplying and Latif faces the daunting task of taming a combustible mix of tribes, Islamic militants, guerrillas, suspected foreign fighters and fierce anti-American sentiment on the streets of Falluja.

Latif dismissed the possibility that guerrillas lying low after the fighting could return with their rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assalt rifles.

"There are no insurgents. There are kind people," said Latif, who said he studied in Britain.

The Americans have said repeatedly that foreign fighters played a big role in the violence. But that's another subject Latif brushes aside.

"We have underground mujahideen. I believe 37 corpses are buried in the graveyard. I saw it with my own eyes," he said.

[Eurotwit]

What?

[Ragirl]

"If they stay it will hurt the confidence and we have built confidence"

CONFIDENCE? THEY HAVE CONFIDENCE? I'd hate to see what it would be like if they didn't have confidence! What a total mess.

[tx_eggman]

The Iraqi former general entrusted with pacifying volatile Falluja said on Thursday U.S. Marines must withdraw quickly from around the troubled town and go home so stability can be restored.

Translation ... you don't want to see what's fixing to happen

[Numbers Guy]

Maybe we need to get a Kurdish commander in there. After last month's Syrian massacre of Kurds, a Kurdish commander wouldn't deny the presence of Syrian fighters in Fallujah.

[Sacajaweau]

Don't believe everything you read.

[AmericanInTokyo]

fox in the henhouse bump

Classic, strategic mistake. One for the history books - bump.

[jwalsh07]

Next!

[Captain Kirk]

You are surprised that this is blowing up in our face? Read what Hayek (or perhaps Chalmers Johnson author of Blowback) has to say about the unintended consequences of government intervention and you will not longer be surprised.

[AQGeiger]

Methinks this general we are supposed to be trusting to maintain the peace in Falluja was a bad choice.

He could just be saying that to help preserve that sense of fierce Islamic pride that is all-important and to help al-Sadr's followers rally behind him. It's so important in that region to save face.

But I doubt he's anything but another thug who wants to make his own power grab.

[TXBSAFH]

I say we split the difference, and leave that town a smoking hole in the ground. But we left right.

[CatoRenasci]

More bullsh*t from Iraqis supposed to be helping us. A pox on them.

[BunnySlippers]

That didn't last long. What did we see in this guy in the first place?

[tessalu]

I am not one little bit impressed, and do you know why?
I know what happened to Americans in Iraq, and I have seen pictures of MUTILATED bodies. amd bodies BURNED, and DRAGGRD through the streets. Just where was all of this Iraqi compassion and concern for humanity? Where was any deceny shown? NO ONE in Iraq takes responsibilty for anything at all. No American would ever sink so low as the Iragis. Some how, I wish that all they had done to the Americans were to lead them around and stack them in heaps.
At least the Iraqi prisoners have hope of going home, and they were not beheaded, burned, or dragged through the streets or hung up on bridges. So they need to go and tell this to someone else besides me.

Thes Iraqi jokers are even pretending to have some decency.

[antivenom]

Methink that the 7th century bug eating Iraqis need to have whoever they want in place whenever...we are to hand things over on the 31st of May...gotta start somewhere...

As for pulling back...GREAT let's do it...let the bug eaters sort it out...why should we care what happens in Falluja in the next couple of weeks...it ISN'T gonna resolve itself before the 31st if we stay in there or not...let them have their wish...I'm sure we could use some of those troops in other areas anyhow...ubtil the crap hits the fan again in the first couple of days in June...

[William Martel]

It sounds to me like this general sees the opportunity for a power grab.

I wouldn't trust him for a second.

[rbmillerjr]

Well that's 2 Generals down,,,,,,,,,,,

Brilliant plan. Next.

[DonaldDuke]

There are no insurgents.

This parrot is not dead, it's pining for the fjords.

Isn't this the joker that the media claimed had been put in control of Falluja? And Bremer came out and debunked the claim?

[OXENinFLA]

Sure, As soon as we go through and collect ALL the heavy weaponry in the city.

[Bahbah]

"I had two hands broken by Saddam. My arm and shoulder were broken due to torture under Saddam,"

Ah, but were you forced to wear women's underwear?

[Sacajaweau]

This is General B. General A has already been relieved of duty and probably back in our prison (or working for us).