Posted on 11/05/2004 8:51:12 AM PST by Jeff Blogworthy
American troops in Fallujah have made loudspeaker announcements and handed out leaflets urging civilians to leave the city ahead of an expected assault.
US soldier A US soldier trains at a camp outside Fallujah
The move comes as troops prepare for a major assault on rebel strongholds in Fallujah and nearby Ramadi.
The soldiers warned they would arrest any man under the age of 45 found trying to leave or enter the city.
Roads around Fallujah have been blocked and the city has been battered by US air strikes in preparation for the offensive.
Hospital officials said air strikes overnight had killed three people and wounded four others, while troops continue to shell insurgents, who have responded with rocket-propelled grenade fire.
Most of the 300,000 population of Fallujah have already fled and US marines say they are awaiting orders from President George W Bush and Ayad Allawi, the Iraqi interim prime minister, before beginning the attack.
Mr Allawi is in Europe to meet EU leaders today and is expected to return with an agreed reconstruction package.
The EU is offering Iraq an £11.5 million aid package to support the country's January elections and the criminal justice system.
Earlier, Mr Allawi met Tony Blair and both men emphasised that the elections must go ahead.
Mr Blair said: "These people that are trying to create circumstances of chaos and instability in Iraq are doing so because of their fear of the democratic process."
Ping TexOkie.
Tex is one of the prayer organization gurus around here.
xzins said to ping you. See post #170. Blessings...
I posted the prayer thread (which actually was a full week long) in Activism and issued a call to prayer. People found it and signed up.
Heh, Strategery!
Our Marines will not be taking the mosque. That duty will be been taken on by the Iraqi army, with our soldiers supplying a support role on the outside and probably air power. It is THEIR mosque that is being desecrated, and they are planning to root these terrorists out of it.
This is the best way for it to be handled. Then no one can claim that the 'infidel' was standing on 'holy soil'.
after we have kicked their ass for a few days, they will want a truce...
this time, no truce...
Our young men in uniform have ALWAYS tried to protect those who are innocent. They never went around shooting willy nilly. An army can't sustain itself for long with that kind of attitude.
There will always be innocents killed in war, but our soldiers DO NOT make war on innocent people! They have always gone out of their way, and yes, sometimes died in the process, to keep women and children from harm whenever possible.
I wonder if the insurgency is relying on "human shields" like the previous regime did.
Neutron bomb test trial.
I agree, sounds almost too good to be true - Bush wins, Arafat dies and the troops wipe out Fallujah. Is UBL next?
I'm thinking that these vicious thugs will not allow many of these women and children to leave. That way, they can (1) hide behind them and (2) use them to turn the assault into a public relations debacle for the U.S. Then they can stand back and exclaim, "See, the U.S. kills our women and children" while an uncritical media parrots the terrorists. Just a thought.
I like your idea. They have NO idea what that would be like. They might not even see the flash...
There's a LOT more than 59 Million. Please consider that the silent majority residing in our midst that did NOT contest us, supports us.:-)
Only the Iraqis themselves can defeat the terrorists, we can merely kill them.
An astute observation.
I believe by emptying the rebelious city, the coalition will be able to seize any armaments coming out (or in). After that, it's a mop-up operation to clear out remaining elements of terrorists.
Here's what will happen, we will kill some, then they will all run into mosques.
Ends there.
Unless our leaders grow some serious balls. Then we'll blow the mosques to hell, which to me, is even better than killing some insurgents. That'll bring even more nutjobs into Iraq to try and kill the troops. We'll kill them too.
We just need to kill enough that the muslim population of young men is decimated so much that only the arab christian men are left.
If an insurgent fires from behind a woman or child. Too bad. Harsh, but in a gunfight, whatcha gonna do?
Hell, I've got 20 years on you - and can take the nuts off a flea at 100 yards..
Well, sort of....
But your point is valid....stay and die...it's NECESSARY to horrify the living into cooperation....
Semper Fi
Sorry, FRiend: your way is the wrong way to fight this war if we wish to win it. Greater minds than yours are in control here, thank Goodness.
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