Posted on 03/22/2005 7:18:09 AM PST by finnman69
FALLUJAH, Iraq (news - web sites) - Piles of rubble still line the streets here, but a few shops have opened on the main drag, schools are finally in session and a compensation program to help families rebuild made some token initial payments this month.
Four months after the assault on Fallujah, in the center of Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland, American forces working to rebuild the city say they're seeing some progress, albeit limited, in a city that's still blockaded and under a curfew.
Even a little progress is an important development in a city that's been a major test for the American presence in Iraq. On March 31, 2004, four U.S. contractors were ambushed and killed here, setting off a battle when U.S. Marines tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the insurgent forces that had taken control of the city.
The second battle began in November, when U.S. Army and Marine units moved through the city, destroying buildings and killing hundreds of opponents.
Now the reconstruction effort faces a problem - how to get life back to normal while preventing another uprising. The American forces say they're insisting that the Iraqi government take the lead and they admit that the work ahead will be slow going.
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The Marines could do the job in a couple of hours with a front-end loader but prefer to pay military-age men to get it done with the tools they have - giving the men an alternative to working with the insurgents and a chance for Iraqis to lead the reconstruction effort.
"If we did everything, we could do this faster," said Master Sgt. Leon Brown, of the Army's 445th Battalion, a reservist from Milpitas, Calif. "But how are the Iraqi people going to feel confident about their country or their government?"
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Keep up the good work men.
Maybe the Marines should try this urban renewal technique in East St. Louis.
My vote would be for Gary, Indiana.
I'd rather live in Fallujah than Camden, NJ.
What a difference a Marine op makes!
They just gotta get the pest control in there to get rid of the giant spiders and then Fallujah will be ready for business me thinks.
What about Detroit?
Detroit and Dallas(south) !!
Of course, Patty Murray will be there to open the Osama bin Laden Day Care Center.
Notice how the Angry Left and the media fail to give any responsibility for the death and destruction in Fallujah to the bad guys?
I don't think we did anything like Fallujah anywhere else. SO what was the difference? Why Fallujah?
Bad guys, that's why.
Now W needs to look at some of OUR worst cities.
It was to be published in April, but has been pushed back to September, 05.
Amazon lists it with a blurb.
Additionally, I ran across a remarkable interview with a Marine Lt. from Fallujah on the radio show "This American Life".
It is second "act" of episode 280. Put "280" into the search box and you can find it very easily.
Semper Fi!
Isn't Philly and Dallas #1 and #2 in murders?
Who's Bing West....?
I used to say F stood by "Fallujah" in "John F. Kerry". It looks like it's become old-fashioned.
Author of "The March Up", his 2003 firsthand account of the 1st MarDiv's blitz through Iraq, and "The Village", 1972 reprinted in 2003,that documented the successful Combined Action Program (CAP) in Vietnam in which he participated.
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