Marines Await Orders to Attack Fallujah

Washington Post ^ | 10/29/04 | Jackie Spinner

[TexKat]

Black Watch prepares for Fallujah patrols

9.00AM, Thu Nov 4 2004

Soldiers from the Black Watch are preparing to begin patrolling the outskirts of Fallujah but have already been targeted at their base nearby.

The final detachments of an 850-strong battlegroup have now arrived at Camp Dogwood in US-controlled central Iraq.

The British troops are expected to block off exit routes from Fallujah and releasing US forces for anticipated attacks on insurgent strongholds in the city.

Mortars and rocket-propelled grenades have already been fired at Camp Dogwood.

In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair has dismissed as "gross" accusations by a prominent Labour backbench critic of the war that the planned military action in Fallujah amounted to "collective punishment" of the city's people.

Alice Mahon demanded assurances that "when the United States launch their `bomb into submission' policy on Fallujah, our army will not become involved in any way in what are collective punishments that indiscriminately kill innocent civilians".

Mr Blair responded: "What we are saying to people in Fallujah is this - and this is from the Iraqi government, never mind the multi-national force, `Lay down your weapons, submit to the authority of that UN-appointed government and participate in the election, and see from the election how much support you have'.

"But what we cannot allow - the Iraqi government can't and we can't - is a situation where outside terrorists and others use Fallujah as a base to mount operations killing innocent civilians and our soldiers, who are doing a job blessed by the UN Security Council resolution.

"To describe this as collective punishment of Fallujah, I think, is gross, if I can say so to you.

"The collective punishment that has been visited on people in Iraq is a collective punishment of suicide bombers, of people detonating vehicles, of people trying to stop the democratic process take place and our job is to make sure it does."

[TexKat]

A photograph dated November 4, 2004 shows an English translation of the Arabic leaflet, printed by the British Army, being handed out to the local people by the Black Watch battle-group as part of their 'hearts and minds' campaign during their stay at Camp Dogwood, 20 miles southwest of Baghdad. REUTERS/Maurice McDonald/Pool

Three British Soldiers Killed in Attack

By ED JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Three British soldiers in the Black Watch regiment, the forces moved closer to the Iraqi capital to back up American troops, have been killed in an attack, the government said Thursday.

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram told the House of Commons that the soldiers were part of an 850-strong unit recently redeployed from southern Iraq to the U.S.-controlled zone near Baghdad.

The British soldiers were redeployed last week to allow U.S. Marines to reposition in Anbar province, home of guerrilla strongholds of Fallujah, Ramadi, Hit and Husaybah.

The move from the relatively peaceful sector to the U.S.-controlled zone, where troops come under daily attack from insurgents, carries the risk of higher casualties and is politically sensitive for Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The three deaths bring the number of British troops killed in Iraq to 73.

Ingram told the Commons it was difficult to "establish a clear picture of events and precise details of what has happened." He did not disclose when or precisely where the attack occurred.

"I very much regret that I can confirm to the House that in an attack on British forces in the Black Watch area of operations we have suffered a number of casualties including three fatalities," the minister said.

"U.S. forces helped to provide urgent medical support at the scene of the incident, something for which I know our forces are grateful," he dded.

[TexKat]

Iraq Setting Up Fallujah Administration

By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - The Iraqi government is setting up a shadow administration to run Fallujah if a combined force of U.S. Marines and Army soldiers is ordered to assault the insurgent stronghold, the military said Thursday.

Should the attack succeed, Iraqi troops will be the primary force keeping order inside the city and Iraqi administrators will be put in control "as soon as it's safe," said Maj. Jim West, a Marine intelligence planner.

"The Iraqi interim government is establishing a government to take over Fallujah, it's an Iraqi government," he told reporters at a U.S. base outside Fallujah.

The military has $75 million in reconstruction funds available for the city, said Navy Cmdr. Steven Stefani.

He said a psychological operations campaign is already under way, with an AM radio station broadcasting messages about the intent of U.S. forces and instructions to residents of Fallujah.

"We're trying to tell them they have friends out there who care about them, who may have to attack and here's what we want them to do," West said. "It's not to take over the city; it's to return the city to you."

Despite the preparations for a military offensive, the Iraqi government has not given up on negotiations and is speaking with insurgent representatives who include a powerful sheik in the city, Abdullah al-Janabi, who is believed to lead local fighters.

"He's working with the Iraqi government right now and we're following the instructions of the Iraqi government," West said.

U.S. commanders have stressed the go-ahead for an attack must come from Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

If an attack is ordered, West said the U.S. force led by Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division, could face as many as 5,000 fighters dug in behind defensive works and booby traps. They likely will be fighting as individual bands of 10 to 20 men, both foreign and Iraqi, he added.

He said soldiers and Marines would first isolate Fallujah to prevent insurgents from entering or leaving, while perhaps directing fleeing civilians to refugee camps.

"You cut off roads, you cut off access points for vehicles that can carry explosives," he said.

For now, the city is still open, with civilians — and perhaps insurgents — being allowed to come and go, West said.

Residents have been fleeing for weeks. If there is a larger outflow triggered by fighting, West said the military was getting ready to care for them. "We're not going to let the elderly and the infirm wander around the desert," he said.

West said U.S. planners expected attacking troops to encounter "greater concentrations" of the same guerrilla weapons and tactics seen across Iraq, especially hidden bombs and explosives-packed cars, perhaps detonated after luring U.S. forces into bottlenecks in the city.

Allied guerrillas operating outside Fallujah also may try to attack U.S. bases or troops in the rear as well as widen the rebellion beyond the rebel hot bed, he said.

Marines have been training for months for the assault, guided by their experiences from the aborted three-week siege of Fallujah in April, West said.

Assault forces could face a tough fight in the narrow lanes of the densely packed inner city, where intelligence information about rebel defenses has been more difficult to obtain and where U.S. high-tech weapons are less effective.

Troops will be wary of attempts to lure them into "a soft spot and have it rigged" with remotely triggered bombs, West said.

"These are typical insurgent tactics and we're prepared for that," he said. "I don't think it will slow up our forces. We've built in a lot of countermeasures."

West suggested Iraqi insurgents might be willing to give up fighting before die-hard foreign guerrillas in the city "who are coming to fight and die."

[TexKat]

A US marine with 2/5 Marines stands in front of a Humvee hit by an Improvised Explosive Device, earlier in the week, in Ramadi, 100 kms west of Baghdad.(AFP)

A US marine with 2/5 Marines gestures as he and his colleagues return from a mission in Ramadi, 100 kms west of Baghdad(AFP/Patrick Baz)

[TexKat]

Picture released by the Multi National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) shows a Bradley Fighting Vehicle departing for a mission from Forward Operating Base MacKenzie, at an undisclosed location in Iraq. US warplanes struck insurgent positions overnight in the rebel-held flashpoint town of Fallujah(AFP/MNF-I/File)

[TexKat]

Military hospital sets up morgue, doubles staff in preparation for Fallujah assault

[TexKat]

Soldiers from A company of the Black Watch are on patrol in the area of Ahmed Al Ahamadi near Camp Dogwood, Iraq, Friday Nov.5, 2004. All of the soldiers wear helmets after three soldiers were killed in a suicide attack at a vehicle checkpoint Thursday. (AP Photo/PA/ Maurice McDonald/Pool)

A soldier of the new Iraqi Army holds his weapon during training at a base near the city of Falluja in western Iraq , November 5, 2004. REUTERS/Eliana Aponte

Soldiers of the New Iraqi Army jump out of a vehicle during training at a base near the city of Falluja in western Iraq, November 5, 2004. REUTERS/Eliana Aponte

[Doberman]

Yep...about time to go in there and blast the s%@t out of them. These animals controlling Fallujah understand one thing...brute force. Like dealing with dogs,if you show any weakness they are nearly impossible to control.

[TexKat]

This is an undated handout of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard who died Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004, in an explosion in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, according to the Marines. He was part of a massive build-up where the military was preparing for an attack into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. (AP Photo/Courtsey of the Hubbard family via the clovis Police Department)

Phil Duthie, 19, from A company of Britain's 1st Battalion Black Watch, takes part in a patrol through the area of Ahmed Al Ahamadi near their base Camp Dogwood, 30 miles southwest of Baghdad, November 5, 2004. In just their second day of full deployment, a suicide car bomber killed three Black Watch regiment troops on Thursday, bringing Britain's death toll in Iraq to 73. It was the first time UK troops have been killed by a suicide bomber. REUTERS/Maurice McDonald/Pool

This is an undated British Ministry of Defence handout photo of Sergeant Stuart Gray, from Fife, Scotland who was killed with two other soldiers in a suicide attack in Iraq Thursday Nov. 4, 2004 . The car bomb, which also claimed the life of an Iraqi interpreter and injured eight other soldiers, was the first suicide attack to kill British troops in Iraq. (AP Photo/MOD, handout)

A Ministry of Defence handout photograph released on November 5, 2004 shows Private Paul Lowe, 19, from Fife, Scotland who was killed in a suicide attack in Iraq. In just their second day of full deployment, a suicide car bomber killed Lowe and two other Black Watch regiment troops on Thursday, bringing Britain's death toll in Iraq to 73. It was the first time UK troops have been killed by a suicide bomber.

A Ministry of Defence handout photograph released on November 5, 2004 shows Private Scott William McArdle, 22, from Fife, Scotland who was killed in a suicide attack in Iraq. In just their second day of full deployment, a suicide car bomber killed McArdle and two other Black Watch regiment troops on Thursday, bringing Britain's death toll in Iraq to 73. It was the first time UK troops have been killed by a suicide bomber.

[TexKat]

Wounded Navy hospital corpsman 3rd class Dennis Astor, 22, of Escondido, CA. relaxes at a combat hospital on an American base near Fallujah. Astor suffered burns and other injuries in Saturday's suicide bombing near here that killed 8 marines and wounded nine. (AP Photo/Jim Krane)

[TexKat]

A video grab shows U.S. bombardment over the Iraqi city of Falluja, November 6, 2004. U.S. forces poised to assault Falluja bombarded the rebel stronghold on Saturday, while insurgents launched deadly attacks that killed 34 people in Samarra, another city in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland. REUTERS/Pool via Reuters

Iraqi men survey the crater outside the Saudi funded emergency hospital in Falluja, Hai Nazal, after it was destroyed during an overnight U.S. air raid conducted over the western city. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal

[TexKat]

US Marines of the 1st Division line up for a prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

US Marines of the 1st Division bow their heads during a prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

US Marines of the 1st Division line up for a joined prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

[TexKat]

US Marines of the 1st Division line up prior to a prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

[TexKat]

This is just too good.

US Marines of the 1st Division try to control a horse as they stage a chariot race reminiscent of the Charlton Heston movie, complete with confiscated Iraqi horses at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. For U.S. Marines tapped to lead an expected attack on insurgent-held Fallujah, the bags have been packed, trucks have been loaded and final letters have been sent, leaving one final task - the 'Ben-Hur.' (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus

US Marines of the 1st Division dressed as gladiators stage a chariot race reminiscent of the Charlton Heston movie-complete with confiscated Iraqi horses at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. For U.S. Marines tapped to lead an expected attack on insurgent-held Fallujah, the bags have been packed, trucks have been loaded and final letters have been sent, leaving one final task - the 'Ben-Hur.' (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

[TexKat]

U.S. Marines of the 1st Division take position on the outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

A US soldier scans a road leading to Fallujah. Black smoke plumed into the air around the restive city where US and Iraqi forces seized a hospital and two bridges as warplanes pounded the rebel enclave.(AFP/Patrick Baz)

US soldiers gather on the outskirts of the restive city of Fallujah. A sizeable unit of US marines coupled with some specially-trained Iraqi troops seized key positions in bitter fighting on the outskirts of Fallujah.(AFP/Patrick Baz)

An Iraqi man prepares graves for seven others killed by an air strike in Fallujah, Iraq, early Monday, Nov. 8, 2004. U.S. forces stormed into the western outskirts of Fallujah early Monday, seizing the main city hospital and securing two key bridges over the Euphrates river in what appeared to be the first stage of the long-expected assault on the insurgent stronghold. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

US Marines of the 1st Division take position on the outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)