Marines Encircle Fallouja (Operation Valiant Resolve commencing)

LA Times ^ | 4-4-04 | Tony Perry and Edmund Sanders

[BurbankKarl]

FALLOUJA, Iraq — Thousands of Marines surrounded this anti-American stronghold early today in preparation for a complex raid to retake control of the city and apprehend those responsible for last week's slayings of four U.S. security contractors.

The highly anticipated action, dubbed Operation Valiant Resolve, was expected to be one of the biggest military offensives since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government a year ago.

All roads leading to this city of 300,000 were cut off and barricaded with tanks and concertina wire. Working through the cold and windy desert night, under a large moon, Marines set up camps for detainees and residents who might flee any fighting. Before dawn, several Marine positions were hit by mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard throughout the city.

[Getsmart64]

Strung up by his nutz???

[txrangerette]

See post#247

[Travis McGee]

One of the worst aspects of fighting muslim arabs is that they have no sense of honor at all, and by using their women and children as shields, they force you to fight a dirty war. They make me sick, they are not worthy of our Marines. I'd much prefer to fill the sky above Fallujah with armed Predators and decoy clones, and blast our identified enemies with missiles at the time or our choosing.

Including a$$holes like Imam Sadr, who's calling for terrorist attacks on our troops. Just smoke 'em from the sky like Sheik Yassin of Hamas, over in Gaza.

[Getsmart64]

Dude....all I can say is be careful and god bless...

[niki]

Frankly, I am sick of this constant negativity by uninformed amateur's

You don't know anything. You are a fool or at best a cute little cheerleader!

[MNJohnnie]

OH MAN, HOW do you doom and gloom types ever get thru any day? Given how EVERYTHING is always a disaster waiting to happen for you guys, I am surprised you even get out of bed!
Spoken like a true chairborne ranger, ready to fight to the last Marine in Iraq from the safety of your Lazyboy recliner, watching it all on TV.

82 Airborne, 11B10, Panama and Gulf War 1. What's your qualifications? Hmmmmm??

Of course I want payback, but on OUR terms, and not on THEIR terms. What they WANT is a "Jenin Massacre" TV spectacular, right between the hospital and the mosque. Tanks driving over children. That's what they WANT. We should play to OUR strength, not theirs, and take a page from the IDF playbook, and use missiles from helos and Predators to take out the targeted individuals

Spoken like a completed armature with NO grasp of how difficult it is separate the terrorists from the innocent in an urban area. We want to BREAK THE BACK of the resistance, not piss around the edges like the Israeli's are doing. Yeah, you are so worried about media relations, what do you do when a missile or bomb mis-targets or misfires and wastes a carload of children like happened in Afghanistan? Sorry but you cannot do this kind of combat on the cheap with just missiles and drones. There is also the Physiological Warfare angle. They Arabs all run around and talk tough because they figure we don't have the guts to take the casualties. So we go in hard and dirty and break both their WILL and their ABILITY to fight. It takes MEN ON THE GROUND who can verify then shoot. Infantry combat is a hell of a lot less indiscriminate then air power. Yeah, we are going to take some casualties. Price of doing business as anyone who has been there will tell you. Deal with it. This IS war no matter what the DNC directed "News" media trys to tell you otherwise

[Fledermaus]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh...truth hurts, doesn't it?

[TOUGH STOUGH]

God bless you and prayers for you. I am so sorry your job will be harder than you thought. Thank you for all you do to protect our lives and our freedom.

[lavrenti]

Wow! That poster dissed Travis McGee in the most serious way.

Egads. Talk about *&$#in' up.

[Getsmart64]

I know..I know...we all know....I just don't understand why there isn't a national movement to expose the media in their actions....MRC is great...but they are no where near the national level...

[MNJohnnie]

Just exactly what are your professional military credentials, Gomer?
You show yours, and I'll show mine.

82nd Airborne Panama, Gulf War 1 11B10. What are yours?????

[BushMeister]

Spoken like a completed armature

Keep going! I think you're winning!

[Woahhs]

try clicking on Travis name you stupid newbie

[Travis McGee]

So, what did you do in Panama and Kuwait, Private?

[lavrenti]

Did some reading on Sadr. He is a mouse studying to be a rat that just had his coming out party over the weekend. Punk, actually. Probably was behind rubbing out the cleric who was our biggest supporter shortly after the fall of Baghdad.

I think his mobs will vanish once somebody takes him out. I dunno, a wayward RPG from another Shia faction or a bizarre gardening accident. Incarcerating him will do us no good.

[McGavin999]

OK, come on, there's enough tension in here as it is. Give the guy a break, he's new. Lot's of different opinions but that's all they are.....opinions. None of us knows what they are doing or are going to do.

[Maynerd]

Lighten up Francis, we all want the same result - dead terrorists & live Americans.

[scarface367]

Good luck and God bless in Iraq. I'll be there soon as well.

I know what you mean by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Imagine being extended in Okinawa for a year forced to watch on the news what was going on during the war

[McGavin999]

That's what I just heard. The guy they arrested who is Sadar's aide is the one who got Khoie at the start of the war and possibly Sadar is behind the other two killings.

[Happy2BMe]

FALLUJAH