What I find interesting is that no one even mentions bringing to justice the murderers who butchered the American contractors and hung their charred bodies from a bridge. That is why we were trying entering the city - to find and punish those responsible for that atrocity. If those terrorists are still walking free - we wasted a lot of time, money and American lives for nothing.
I sympathize with your reaction, but I have to disagree. Chances are good that some of those reponsible were killed during the battle. We just don't know. Chances are excellent that those remaining have shot off their mouths about their involvement. A little "walking around money" will loosen some tongues now that Marine/Iraqi security teams are patrolling in Falluja again. You can also bet that the Spec Ops guys are skulking around looking for the perps. Snatch & Grab, baby... and off to Gitmo with you.
The larger problem was the reaction of the Mob to the atrocity. THAT was shocking. It looked like Falluja U had just won an Superbowl, or something. So the choice is stark. Do you go for the Hiroshima/Dresden solution, and risk a general uprising in Iraq? Or do you bide your time and selectively smother the insurgency?
The Marines were positioned, in releif of the 82nd Airborne, two weeks BEFORE the butchering of the Blackwater Security guys. They were there to "pacify" the city, using the specialized training and techniques they had implemented just for that purpose.
The ambush and desecration was clearly a high-profile outrage designed to provoke a gross overreaction. It is my belief that the Blackwater guys were killed BECAUSE the Marines were on their way to clean house.