Al-Qaeda-Linked Force Captures Fallujah Amid Rise In Violence In Iraq [Liberated Fallujah Falls!!]

Washington Post ^ | January 03, 2013 | Liz Sly

[Steelfish]

Al-Qaeda-Linked Force Captures Fallujah Amid Rise In Violence In Iraq

By Liz Sly, January 3 BEIRUT — A rejuvenated al-Qaeda-affiliated force asserted control over the western Iraqi city of Fallujah on Friday, raising its flag over government buildings and declaring an Islamic state in one of the most crucial areas that U.S. troops fought to pacify before withdrawing from Iraq two years ago.

The capture of Fallujah came amid an explosion of violence across the western desert province of Anbar in which local tribes, Iraqi security forces and al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have been fighting one another for days in a confusingly chaotic three-way war.

Elsewhere in the province, local tribal militias claimed they were gaining ground against the al-Qaeda militants who surged into urban areas from their desert strongholds this week after clashes erupted between local residents and the Iraqi security forces.

In Fallujah, where Marines fought the bloodiest battle of the Iraq war in 2004, the militants appeared to have the upper hand, underscoring the extent to which the Iraqi security forces have struggled to sustain the gains made by U.S. troops before they withdrew in December 2011.

[Jim Noble]

I had not thought of the disaster of February 1942 in terms of the disaster in Afghanistan, but the analogy, unfortunately, is likely to be quite precise.

[EternalVigilance]

“If you want Fallujah you can keep it.”

— Barack Hussein Obama

[nathanbedford]

I agree with you, the word makes me vaguely uneasy but I am not clear why and I do not have a fit substitute for the concept of the interior of the nation at war with external foes.

Many countries have similar references and some of them are not very savory such as "Fatherland" with its Nazi connotations and "motherland" with its Soviet connection from World War II. But virtually every country has a similar way of describing the nation.

Do you have a suggestion?

[Travis McGee]

[nathanbedford]

I agree for the most part with your brief history of Obama's foreign policy. The man is not a patriot, to the contrary, he is an enemy of the country. My point was never to rehabilitate Obama but to point out that our policy was flawed from the beginning. It is unfortunate that Obama was among the first to say so and it is not easy to get people to care what his motives were when he was doing it.

My point is that the advances and setbacks which you describe are relevant to a limited period of time. If Obama had not undone those advances which we had made, time would have done so because our problem as outlined in reply #9 is cultural and, speaking of time, a time warp. We could occupy Falluja for decades but upon our withdrawal the forces of superstition would return as surely as the tides.

[PIF]

Iraqi crack troops defeated, drop heavy weapons in rush to flee back to the last line of defense: Baghdad.

It's over, as no military force now stands in the way of the formation of an AQ caliphate stretching from Syria through Iraq to Iran.

The Obama's dream is reaching fruition.

[silverleaf]

AQ cannot establish a “caliphate” until it takes down the Shia, who they hate more than the West or even the Christians

Ironically Iran’s military is the one that stands in its way (Syria’s military in the process of being taken down, although not having obama’s help to do so last summer under the guise of destroying chemical weapons for humanitarian reasons posed a temporary setback to “al Qaeda”))

eventually there will have to be a great muslim v muslim land clash east of the Euphrates and Tigris basin

Wouldn’t it be ironic if some future US administration tries to commit America’s military to defend Iran’s illicit nuke weapons

[winodog]

I have always thought in terms of the United States or even the individual States however that is simply a product of gov.con schooling. I just never heard the term used here until the feds created a new army on US soil to protect them from us and called it something it is not.

[Old Sarge]

I’ve disliked the word “Shrub” ever since Molly Ivins first uttered it.

Is it a Leftist term?

[winodog]

Touché.
I seldom if ever use it however he is every bit as deceitful and dishonest as Oboma and he has lost any respect I ever had.
I have faced the facts. Pops was the head of the CIA, a globalist who helped usher in their NWO. The only respect I have for Shrub is that he felt so bad about what he was doing that he showed the troops compassion

[PIF]

I said formation not establishment - meaning they intend to declare it as such, even if others refuse to recognize it.

[Sarajevo]

If any state leaders were going to be killed, we should have started with King Fahd and President Musharraf. But that was unnecessary.

Zounds! I never thought I would hear that from another, especially on FR. I've said the same for years.

[Kaslin]

Thanks a lot 0bama you arrogant pos

[dfwgator]

At the very least, we never should have gotten involved with intra-Arab/intra-Muslim squabbles in the first place.

[Kaslin]

Yes it is, and it tells a lot about the poster

[combat_boots]

I am firm in my belief that since the formation of allied States in 1973 and the crisis of 1979, we are in a Holy War. In 2001, it became obvious is all.