'We Won': Fallujah Rejoices in Withdrawal
washingtonpost.com
FALLUJAH, Iraq, May 1 -- Covering their faces with checkered head scarves, militiamen loyal to a former Iraqi army general jubilantly took to the streets of this battle-scarred city Saturday to celebrate what they called a triumph over withdrawing U.S. Marines.
As the militiamen drove through Fallujah in trucks and congregated on deserted street corners, residents flashed V-for-victory signs and mosques broadcast celebratory messages proclaiming triumph over the Americans.
Although the militiamen were scheduled to take over checkpoints and patrol duties from Marine units Friday, many of those tasks appeared to go unfulfilled Saturday. Several of the militiamen, clad in street clothes and toting battered AK-47 rifles, said they were still waiting for orders from their commanders. But as they waited, many said their first priority was to rejoice.
"We won," said one of the militiamen, a former soldier who gave his name only as Abu Abdullah, meaning the father of Abdullah. "We didn't want the Americans to enter the city and we succeeded."
"In Baghdad, the chief spokesman for the U.S. military command in Iraq, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, told the Agence France-Presse news service that the U.S. occupation authority and the Iraqi Defense Ministry had not endorsed the Iraqi general selected by Conway to lead the force in Fallujah. Kimmitt said Conway's choice, former Maj. Gen. Jassim Mohammed Saleh, would undergo a full background check."
I think we just ran out of plan. The Marines turned Fallujah over to the people who killed 4 US contract security officers, and their buddies who have killed dozens of Marines in the past month.
btw, according to Newsweek, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force casualties (killed and wounded) over the past month surpass 30 percent.
msnbc.msn.com
"In continuing adherence to the Army's "light is better" doctrine, even units recently rotated to Iraq have left most of their armor behind. These include the I Marine Expeditionary Force, which has paid dearly for that decision with an astonishing 30 percent-plus casualties (45 killed, more than 300 wounded) in Fallujah and Ar Ramadi." |
