Posted on 06/14/2004 7:19:23 PM PDT by elfman2
Many troops say the mission in the Iraqi city was left unfinished.
lfiller@leader.net
BAGHDAD, Iraq - In support of the Marines, soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard struggled to bring peace to Fallujah for two months.
The guardsmen, some from the Wyoming Valley, manned a major checkpoint and patrolled a crucial highway. As the Marines hemmed the insurgents in the town and cordoned it off, women and children were slowly allowed out.
Some men of fighting age walked away too, leaving their weapons behind.
Then, when the cordon was complete, when the insurgents were isolated, the mission changed.
A cease-fire was declared, but not obeyed. Even in the face of that broken promise, coalition forces turned control of the city over to the Iraqis.
Was it a betrayal of the men who fought and died there? A diplomatic master stroke that could prove key in quelling violence across Iraq? A failure of will?
Or, was it a political machination that could prove disastrous if soldiers have to return to the town in force?
Ask members of the 103rd Armor and the 107th Field Artillery of the Pennsylvania National Guard and you'll get some strong replies.
They, now designated Alpha Company of the 112th MP Battalion, are housed in the Green Zone, away from Fallujah. They commented on the pullback from that violence-prone city.
"After seeing the guys who got killed and injured, it felt pretty damn bad when we turned the traffic control point over to the new Iraqi Army," said Cpl. John Shulskie of Larksville. "The weapons people brought out and handed over often looked like they had been dug up from their cellar, they kept the good stuff. I think we'll be back there, and I think it's a shame."
Shulskie served in Operation Desert Storm, and volunteered for the Guard specifically in order to come back and finish what the 1991 war did not. Now, he has again been stopped short of completing what he sees as the mission, and it angered him.
"When the new orders came down, it was a little weird to see guys you knew were insurgents coming in and out of the cities, people who we'd not allowed to pass before," said Cpl. Maurice Knight, of Williamsport. "You'd see guys, much darker than Iraqis, from the Sudan, and it was obvious they had come here to fight. I know we were just trying to create peace, but this wasn't the right way to do it, because we are going to have to go back in there, sooner than later."
Many feel strongly that if soldiers do have to go back in large numbers, more lives will be lost than necessary because the cordon already in place in May will have to be re-established.
But Capt. Curtis Barclay believes a return to Fallujah may not be necessary.
"You hate as a soldier to allow any civilian to be in harm's way, which was the part of the turnover that worried me," said Barclay, of Ridgway. "But we're here to assist them in getting ready to take over sovereign control of their country, and it may be that turning it over in this case was a brilliant way of disarming some of the insurgents' anger and power."
Barclay says he did feel while in Fallujah that some of the insurgents there were from other countries, but never had that sense validated by hard facts. As for the slow pace at which the insurgents turned over weapons, Barclay said: "If you have a bunch of soldiers in your backyard, you're not just going to run out and hand them your weapons, but I believe as they come to trust the Iraqi force, that will improve. And it's important to note, there are still Marines in Fallujah, and they are still running missions. It's not as if we have entirely left the city."
Lt. Eric Sloan of Shoemakersville also served in Iraq in 1991, as a Marine, and that colors his view of what happened in Fallujah. "I volunteered to come here, and part of the reason was that because we didn't take Baghdad then, if I didn't come, it would have been like I was making other soldiers do the job I didn't finish."
Sloan is savvy enough to understand there might have been a higher purpose behind the decision, but is angered that purpose was never explained.
"Those in charge may have had a very good reason for doing what they did, but it would have been nice if they told the guys fighting the war what that reason was. My men have to ask, and I do too, if all these bad guys were in Fallujah, why did we let them out."
Staff Sgt. Frank Walkowiak was stunned both by the brilliance of the Marines' tactics in bringing the city under control, and by the decision to let that control be forsaken.
"It was an amazing military maneuver," said Walkowiak, of Harrisburg. "The Marines went in and punched holes in that city, then pulled out a bit and allowed insurgents from all over to go to the aid of the Fallujah insurgents. When the cordon was set up, all those folks were trapped inside, the civilians, minus a few stragglers had fled, and all the weapons and the terrorists were trapped."
Walkowiak made it clear that he doesn't think the coalition should have destroyed the town or gone on a killing spree, but said: "They had all the terrorists tangled in a net, and they let them go. The government, who I'd been supporting up to that point, showed us they weren't serious, and that's when we know it's time to get out."
Spc. Garrett McMullen of Tamaqua was stunned that the pullback went through even after the insurgents continued to violate the cease-fire that preceded it.
"Even after we were told we weren't going to crush the resistance there, I thought we would," McMullen said. "Because the initial cease-fire broke down, and there were still mortars and small-weapons fire on a consistent basis. We gave them way too many chances, and went against what we were saying. The worst part was, when we did transition control over to the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and the Iraqi Police, they didn't take it seriously. They were so relaxed, they were just letting people in and out of the town right and left.
"We had all the bad guys in the town, all the good guys have been let out of town, and we let it slip away."
And slip away, apparently, they did.
Friday, a notice went up outside the Alpha Company headquarters to be wary. A cell of about 100 al-Qaida operatives had relocated to Baghdad, and were expected to resume terrorist activities at any time.
(left) and two Iraqi police officers take away a batch of insurgents' weapons handed over in Fallujah in late May.
COURTESY OF LT. ERIC SLOAN
A cache of mortars and Russian sniper rifles was turned in by Iraqi insurgents after coalition forces agreed to turn Fallujah over to Iraqi control in late May.
TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/LANE FILLER
Staff Sgt. Frank Walkowiak supported the coalition's mission in Iraq, until it made a deal that let insurgents escape from Fallujah. 'The politicians showed us they weren't serious and that's when you know it's time to get out of the country.'
We pulled out because that is what the Iraqi government wanted. The current president said we were committing 'genocide' (ok a bit dramatic, but it showed the Iraqis really didn't like the idea of what we were doing there). They wanted us to take a different approach, and let them try to handle it. They have that opportunity now. Let's give them time. The city is isolated.
Looks like a few people are beginning to report on the significance of this.
and when we did have them isolated there, we attacked them with snipers and Marines and several nights of AC130 fire and bombings. alot of them died in those attacks. the article conveniently omits that.
bttttttttttttttt
All the bad guys got away to fight and kill our best and brightest another day. They fled to Baghdad and are even now blowing people up right and left. This sure ain't right and I wonder who is to blame? Pentagon or State Department? My gut feeling would be Powell and Bremer and Wolfowitz at State. DIP-low-matts...let's make nice for the world opinion and the press and A-Rab street and Al Jazeera et.al.
If their goals were our goals, I’d be in favor of totally abdicating authority two months ago. I suspect that the Iraqi Governing Council wants to move on with their careers ASAP. We (should) want to eradicate terrorist safe havens from a free Iraq.
But it’s their decision now. Our window of control is about expired.
I think your gut’s about right. If these reports that I outlined in #115 are true, it’s Bremer, Sanchez and Rumsfeld. .
There are a few reports that the city is not isolated, that the cordon is no longer secure.
By isolated I meant in influence. Again, give them time.
Didn't Bush can the General commanding the US forces in Iraq after this?
This is nothing short of outrageous...
Sanchez was replaced, but I don’t know the circumstances.
I'll be darned! The stupid reporter/headline writer did say "WEIGHTS" !
Ya gotta luv publik edumecation now-a-days!
I think Sanchez is still there, but will be reassigned to Latin America. However, he is demanding that he be investigated in the Abu Ghraib incident, first.
The media has stopped calling for his head all of a sudden.
Joint patrols have begun again in Falujah, without incident. It was on FNC today. Both the Americans and the Iraqi Forces were smiling.
Send this article to as many politicians responsible for the handling of the war as possible. Tell them that this is why the poll numbers are so low for the President's handling of the WOT.
It is only when the PC approach to the Iraq operations and the WOT at large is abandoned that we will see decisive conclusions. The PC approach, the object of which is to assuage world opinion and appease the Iraqi Ruling Council, is fruitless on two counts: it stalls the momentum of offensives at the cost of the lives of brave American fighting men while credit never seems to be given for restaint shown anyway.
The PC approach, the object of which is to assuage world opinion and appease the Iraqi Ruling Council, is fruitless on two counts:
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