Fallujah Strike Breaking Insurgency, General Says (Update1)
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg)
The U.S.-led attack on insurgents in
Fallujah, now in its second week, has ``broken the back of the insurgency,'' according to documents uncovered in house-to-house raids in the city, said Lt. General John Sattler, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force commander.
``This has disrupted them across the country,'' Sattler said in a press conference from Baghdad. ``This is going to make it very hard for them to operate and I'm hoping we continue to breathe down their necks.''
Fifty-one U.S. soldiers and Marines have been killed in action during the Fallujah operation, with another 425 wounded. Eight Iraqi troops have been killed and 43 wounded. Sattler said roughly 1,200 insurgents have been killed to date. About 1,000 people have been detained for questioning, he said.
The city, where four U.S. contractors were killed in April, had been a base of operations for insurgent groups, including Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for a series of kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.
``Based on some of the records and ledgers we've been able to uncover we feel right now that we have broken the back of the insurgency and we have taken away this safe haven,'' Sattler said.
Some of the records that were found list individuals, including fighters from other countries in Iraq, and the U.S. is using those records to pursue them, Sattler said.
Sattler's conclusions about the impact of the Fallujah battle on the insurgency were probably premature, said Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East and terrorism expert for the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
``It's way too early to conclude that this operation has materially wounded the insurgency,'' said Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East and terrorism expert for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. Once Marines begin to pull out of Fallujah and hand it over to Iraqi forces, the ``insurgents will test them right away.''
There has been no reliable estimate of total insurgent numbers. U.S. Central Command Commander General John Abizaid last November estimated there were as many as 5,000. An unnamed Centcom intelligence officer told the Associated Press in June that the number was 20,000. Major General Ray Odierno, the former commander of the 4th Infantry Division, last month said the insurgency involved 3,000 to 7,000 fighters.
``It is far too soon to talk about breaking the back of the insurgency,'' said Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.``Most reports indicate that large numbers of insurgents left Fallujah before the fighting, and significant numbers escaped. As in every case relating to insurgents, however, there are no reliable numbers -- only rough estimates and guesstimates.''
Sattler said U.S. forces have not yet found the physical location where al-Zarqawi directed operations.
``I cannot stand here and tell you we found the command and control house or building where Zarqawi orchestrated'' suicide bomber attacks across the country, he said. ``We will continue to look for that,'' and other evidence of the network that will be evaluated for intelligence that can be used to target additional raids, he said.
Deputy Central Command Commander Lt. General Lance Smith said today it would take several weeks for U.S. and Iraqi forces to make Fallujah safe enough for residents to return.
About $200 million is available for reconstruction in Fallujah once the city is deemed stable, Smith said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rob Urban at robprag@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 18, 2004 16:46 EST
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