Posted on 11/08/2004 8:39:55 AM PST by epluribus_2
NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - More than 4,000 U.S. Marines and Army troops punched their way into northeastern Fallujah on Monday, kicking off a massive assault dubbed Operation Phantom Fury that seeks to put an end to half a year of insurgent control of the Sunni Muslim city.
The prelude to the assault on the Askari neighborhood was a crushing air and artillery bombardment of the city that rose to a crescendo by Monday evening, with U.S. strike jets dropping bombs around the clock and big guns pounding the city every few minutes with high-explosive shells.
Meanwhile, insurgents in Baghdad and nearby Ramadi tried to keep up the pressure on the coalition forces with new attacks, including one on a Catholic church in the capital.
Earlier Monday U.S. troops had fought their way into the city's western outskirts, seizing two bridges over the Euphrates River and helping Iraqi soldiers take the city's main hospital in the first stage of a major assault on the insurgent stronghold.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I hope that embed lives to tell how painfully the terrorists died.
590-""but from reading this thread . . . there doesn't appear to have been anything worth "reporting" on in Fallujah."
That is as it should be. The last thing our military needs, is reporters, in the middle of a battle, out there reporting where our military are, and what they are doing, and doing damage assesments for the enemy.
Jeesh!!!
Prayers up.
The Marines and Army are bringing the whole arsenal with them. This is going to be a one way, high tech Stalingrad.
So everyone is on the same page here....the embedded reporter is with US forces.
None better. We need Rummy to remain as SecDef during W2.
Thanks. Prayers up for that!
Mega Ditto, M.
admit it - the cablenets I proposed would get >a-hem!< ass-kicking ratings
Appreciate the updates. Prayers for our brave troops. Please dear Lord, look over these men, keep them safe and sure.
605 - "The Marines and Army are bringing the whole arsenal with them. This is going to be a one way, high tech Stalingrad."
Good. I hope the result is a High Tech Carthage.
FOX: The resistance has so far been moderate.....the terrorists had a thinline on the outskirts of the city.....and seems to be falling back into the city center.
It all seems to be working like a clockwork. Eventually they'll get into a buffalo herd, and you know how easy that was for Buffalo Bill and his boys. I sure hope they give up, at that point.
are you watching on cable? none here but I am going out anyway.. thanks for updates.
Rummy was absolutely GREAT! He was glad to be back and loaded for bear. And has had to hold back from the media for a while....it reminds me of when you finally let the angry Rottweiler off the leash.
Fox emebedded reporter is on live...reporting that the US forces are fighting to take the northest section....they are going house to house to clear the terrorists.
Summary: a Look at terrorists in Fallujah
By The Associated Press
_ WHO ARE THEY?: The bulk of the defenders are believed to be Sunni Muslims from the Fallujah area, but they also include an unknown number of militants from other countries, including followers of Jordan terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It's unclear whether al-Zarqawi is still in the city; Sunni clerics insist he never was. His followers have been blamed for deadly bombings and the slayings of foreign hostages.
_ HOW MANY?: Commanders estimate about 3,000 insurgents are dug in their positions in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. The vast majority of the civilian population of some 300,000 is believed to have fled, the U.S. military said.
_ WHERE ARE THEY?: Insurgent defenses are believed strongest in the Jolan neighborhood, a poor district in the heart of Fallujah. Sunni guerrillas also control other cities north and west of Baghdad. They are distinct from the Shiite Muslim followers of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who launched an uprising throughout southern Iraq (news - web sites) and parts of Baghdad earlier this year.
ROLLING THUNDER !
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