Frontline Fallujah

Iraq Dispatches ^ | 5/7/04 | Dahr Jamail

[gandalftb]

The tight streets and numerous alleys of Julan are mostly empty after we pass through two mujahedeen checkpoints. So many homes are bombed, others riddled with bullets. Date palms are torn down and the stench of rotting bodies hangs in the air.

There is a huge crater, at least 8 feet deep and three times that at its diameter, just in front of a small mosque. The hole is partially filled with water from a leaking pipe below.

At yet another mosque I am shown a copy of the Holy Koran which has two bullet holes through it. Another man, walking from a minaret that has been completely demolished, shows me casings from a tank shell.

He too tells the story of Marines shooting people from minarets, “When we tried to go to our mosque, the snipers shot at us.”

I hear more horrendous stories: Marines occupying people’s homes and looting them of money and gold, leaving feces in their foodstuffs, butchering their cows, chickens and dogs.

[TigersEye]

Why are there buildings still standing there? Why are there people still alive there?

[Poodlebrain]

When I read that passage I interpreted it as the tank shell casing was found in the minaret. That would be quite the achievement in maneuvering a tank so that it could fire from a minaret.

[easonc52]

He too tells the story of Marines shooting people from minarets, “When we tried to go to our mosque, the snipers shot at us.”

I find that ludicrous.

[easonc52]

LOL

[steplock]

"At yet another mosque I am shown a copy of the Holy Koran which has two bullet holes through it."

BRAVO BRAVISSIMO! Excellent shooting! Two holes through the Koran and hopefully through the heart of the terrorist that was holding it!

[Khurkris]

"Dahr Jamail is Baghdad correspondent for The NewStandard. He is an Alaskan devoted to covering the untold stories from occupied Iraq. You can help Dahr continue his crucial work in Iraq by making donations. For more information or to donate to Dahr, visit The NewStandard."

IMHO, this looks like a sleeper who has been activated to post these fantasy stories via internet blogs.

[Ranger]

For all their protests, the locals have got to be impressed with the accuracy and discipline of the marines in combat. Photos in the paper of torture carry a heavy cost for the U.S., but the locals in Fallujah know they were spared a murderous assault. I can't help but feel that countless acts of kindness by our troops in Iraq will weigh more on the Iraqis than the disgusting conduct of some of our prison guards.

[Last Dakotan]

We all know who was shooting from the minarets... Those that could see a political gain by showing a large number of civilians killed.

[gandalftb]

The reporter is clearly biased, but the full story reveals the genuine hatred of many Iraqis. Revenge is generational there. We have to stay to create order in the Middle East, heck, we're still in Germany! We will always have to be wary. There will never be full normalization with this society.

The photo isn't imaginary and neither is the destruction. The loose talk is just that, but it is the enemies loose talk and we better listen. They had it coming, we're gonna have to teach this bunch the hard way.

[gandalftb]

No, again the photo is real, see my #10 RE dogs.

[FreedomCalls]

the photo is real

I didn't question the photo, I questioned the story. The photo shows no dogs. In keeping with Muslim rules of "purity" dogs are "unclean" and are in the same category as pigs. Just as there are no pigs in Fallujah, there are no dogs in Fallujah either. Never were.

[gandalftb]

Dar Jamail is not a sleeper he is an expatriot seeker. He is attracted to the romantic notions of Islam and jihad to acquire a heroic image that he lacked before he "went native" like some colonial Brits used to do. The guise of reporter gives him access and thus the self-importance he needs. I think we're all smart enough to see past the b.s.

[gandalftb]

They will be, they have $80m and another $500k/month for all of Al-Anbar province.

[ItsForTheChildren]

Don't worry. You didn't miss anything. It's not worth the cyber-paper it's printed on.

[gandalftb]

I can post photos of Marines feeding dogs in Falluja. They are not kept as pets or raised like we do, most are wild. They do keep them for cheap burglar alarms and for killing rats.

The dogs are gone now, no food, and their Marine neighbors were too noisy. So what.

The biased reporter found some angry people to spout off. Okay. Who else is reporting from Fallujah? The story needs to get out so that Muslim toughs might think twice. We need to de-glamourize jihad.

[Khurkris]

"Dar Jamail is not a sleeper he is an expatriot seeker. He is attracted to the romantic notions of Islam and jihad to acquire a heroic image that he lacked before he "went native" like some colonial Brits used to do. The guise of reporter gives him access and thus the self-importance he needs. I think we're all smart enough to see past the b.s."

A quick google on him showed what his game is. Soliciting money to 'continue his missions.' The guy is probably also laundering money to the various anti-USA groups. He is a tool being used. I can easily forsee problems for him when he reurns to USA.

[gandalftb]

Good snooping!

[gandalftb]

This is Cpl. Juan Perez and LCpl. Jose Robles feeding wild dog puppies an MRE, after the Marines coaxed them out of their den on the NW side of Fallujah, 041004.

[norcalvet]

It amazes me how at the same time these people can rattle off all the damage the Marines have done to them, while saying they have been victorious. The writer says "I weep at the cost." Does he? It is truly sad how they have redefined their own death and destruction as some sort of victory. They use images and graphic descriptions of death and loss to manipulate the sensitivities of weak minds, yet it is that death and destruction which they seem to seek. Who but God could say if it is a moral victory - if anything the victory is political, and short-lived. But whatever it is it certainly isn't a military victory, or a human one.

Sadly, they are eager to fight again, in which case they will only suffer more death and destruction. Fortunately for them, we aren't the Nazis some describe us as. They should ask the Polish how the Nazis laid seige to a city, and compare that to the ability we unquestionably possess to make "blitzkrieg" seem like a French word.

[Lion Den Dan]

maneuvering a tank so that it could fire from a minaret. ----

Depends upon whether the minaret is erect or horizontal. Horizontal makes better cover