[elfman2]

We can’t post this article due to LA Times copyright restrictions. But I’m sure that General Conway’s own words are not copyrighted…

"Would our system have been better? You'll never know for sure. But at the time we certainly thought so."

"We follow our orders. We had our say. We understood the rationale, and we saluted smartly and went about the attack.”

"When we got here, we were told by the 82nd that you can go into Fallouja, spend 45 minutes, no more. After the contractor incident, we were told that we had to attack Fallouja. I think we certainly increased the level of animosity that existed, and we're living with that."

In three days we had taken a third of the city. We were quite happy with the progress…. We thought we were going to be done in two days."

"I would simply say that when you order elements of a Marine division to attack a city, that you really need to understand what the consequences are, and not perhaps vacillate in the middle of something like that. Once you commit, you've got to stay committed."

"The status quo in Fallouja cannot stand."

The origin of the orders to halt the attack on Fallujah isn’t clear from this article, but others are more specific.

- USA Today 5/1 “Mr. Bremer in turn sort ‘a put in the order to hold back.”
- BBC 4/11 “Paul Bremer, said the ceasefire came at the request of members of the Iraqi Governing Council”
- National Review 4/12 “Bremer ordered the suspension of offensive operations by the Marines in-and-around Fallujah.”
- AP 4/10 “Marines agreed only grudgingly to a halt in fighting.”
- NYT 4/9 “U.S. officials said the pause was ordered by L. Paul Bremer”
- LA Times 4/29 “Bremer… and …Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, have at least once ordered the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force to postpone the scheduled attack, with the approval of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, defense officials said.”
- Washington Times 4/15 “council members Friday in scolding Mr. Bremer…The protests resulted in orders to end the Marine assault…Kind of hard to imagine what Gen. Sanchez was thinking when he ordered the Marines to cease fire”"
- Military.com 9/14 “A senior Marine official told Marines just rotating into Iraq in July that U.S. forces were ordered into and out of Fallujah for political reasons, but it was "nothing to gnash your teeth about." Marines are there to follow the orders of civilian authorities.”

[Mount Athos]

Since our strategies in falluja didn't work, I would expect any competent officer to offer explanations why it didn't work and to come up with ideas on how to do it better, what to learn from it, etc..

[elfman2]

One more...

[Unam Sanctam]

At the time they pulled back, I seem to remember that it was reported that it was Conway's idea.

[eclectic]

Hopefully they learned their lesson. In retrospect, the pullback from Falluja created an opening for the terrorists and led to the current flare up

[ArmyBratproud]

The order to attack Fallouja and the subsequent command to halt came down the chain of command from Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top officer on the ground at the time, Conway said. The Marines expressed objections but proceeded.

---

Conway later talks about the order ot halt the attack.

I JUST WONDER.... Which one is a democrat.....
Sanchez...or Conway.

Conway seems to have a legit beef. Sanchez has indeed given some strange workings.

[NeonKnight]

Then came the order to stop advancing. Conway indicated that he was stunned (stuned) by the move.

[SJSAMPLE]

Hey, what happened to all the "new sheriff in town" propaganda? When they RIP'd the 82nd ABN, there was a lot of USMC talk about there being a "new sheriff in town" and that they were going to bring law and order to Fallujah. Senior Marine officers openly ripped the 82nd Airborne as not being aggressive enough.

I agree with the hard-line approach, but now that the USMC's got some 'splaining to do, this guy starts making excuses?

[FreeReign]

Conway:I would simply say that when you order elements of a Marine division to attack a city, that you really need to understand what the consequences are, and not perhaps vacillate in the middle of something like that,

True.

Conway:Once you commit, you've got to stay committed.

False. If you are committed to something that is not constructive, then you shouldn't stay the course.

I glad Conway is leaving.

[elfman2]

I ran across your previous comments to me on this subject while referencing an old thread.You may want to think about them in light of this story.

here- ”It is so totally clear now that the Marines are making their OWN decisions, based on what they see on the ground, and are NOT some "puppets" on the Pentagon's string that to keep arguing that we are "not letting the Marines do their job" is laughable.

“BTW, this is exactly what my MARINE COUSIN told me was going to happen---that the very last option was to go into the city and have a big bloody battle. And, last I looked, the Marines had identified 28 baddies they needed to kill or capture . . .and have now killed or captured 27 of them. I'd call that effective. ‘

here- ”Let me add that I keep hearing from my Lt. Col. Marine cousin, who is now being recalled to Iraq, that in fact the Marines are using EXACTLY the right strategy and that everything has been pretty much as the MARINES (not Rummy or anyone else) planned.

“But elf or other "critics" who "know" what is happening behind the scenes won't be convinced by what the actual participants have to say.”

here - ”Don't need to discuss something with someone who is so far off base that he can't see home plate. Let me know when you are talking to Marines in theater.”

here- “Your "major papers" have been deconstructed ad nauseum. Give it up. You can no longer contort your unreality to fit the facts of Fallujah.”

here- ”The Times can be wrong, and obviously is. But, of course, that doesn't fit the template.”