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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (84342)	11/6/2004 4:10:07 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793817

Taking the ‘No Go’ City DEFENSE WATCH By Ed Offley It’s time for some blunt talk about the imminent battle of Fallujah, a fight that has been unavoidable for months, and is now inevitable in the aftermath of the U.S. elections and failed negotiations between the Baghdad government and the insurgents. It’s time for Americans here at home to realize what our troops in Iraq have known for weeks: American Marines and soldiers are going to die in the city, fighting in the dust and mud, perhaps in large numbers. More Iraqi insurgents than Americans are going to perish in the streets of Fallujah. Inevitably, a number of innocent Iraqi men, women and children are going to be caught in the crossfire. If there is any good news in the detailed news accounts coming from both sides of the standoff, it is that most civilians in Fallujah have already fled the city, so “friendly fire” casualties hopefully will be held to a bare minimum. Nevertheless, American troops will face a challenge that their enemies willfully disdain, avoiding the accidental killing of noncombatants at times that increases the direct risks that they themselves must face. The U.S. military’s high-tech weapons and global command-and-control network will contribute to success. In recent weeks, the Air Force and Army aviation have repeatedly struck at dozens of suspected terrorist sites within Fallujah using smart sensors and precision-guided munitions. However, in the end it will be the moral superiority of the American fighting man – his training, courage and teamwork – that will ultimately help our troops prevail over the enemy’s booby traps, civilian human shields and suicidal tactics. While prolonged training and detailed preparation define the U.S. military’s fighting superiority, it will most likely be the improvisational skills of junior officers and NCOs that create the smaller victories that lead to ultimate battlefield success. But the battle for Fallujah will not end when the fighting is over. The killing or capture of the insurgent fighters will only signal the end of one phase in the struggle for the city, the Sunni Triangle, and Iraq itself. Regaining control of Fallujah is crucial to weakening the deadly Sunni Muslim insurgency and smoothing the road to Iraqi national elections slated for January, but maintaining stability in a post-insurgent Fallujah will take all of the counterinsurgency skills that the U.S. military can muster. A Los Angeles Times reporter accompanying the Marines near Fallujah this week quoted one senior U.S. commander: “Even more important than the battle is the aftermath. The Iraqis need to go in there like the American government goes into Florida after a hurricane. They need to be seen on the ground helping people.” Recognizing the error from the cease-fire in Fallujah last April, when ill-trained Iraqis deserted en masse when confronted by the insurgents, and Marines were ordered to pull back, creating a “no go” zone in the city where insurgents flourished, U.S. commanders are now preparing to send a larger, better-prepared force of Iraqi personnel into Fallujah once the fighting is over. The Los Angeles Times noted: “Several thousand Iraqi police, national guardsmen and army personnel are said to be poised to move into Fallujah to help maintain order once the Marines have secured the city. Most are not from Fallujah, and thus are resistant to the intimidation that contributed to the failure of the Fallujah Brigade, the special unit of Iraqi forces set up in April to help maintain the peace. Many members [of that unit] turned out to be insurgents or sympathizers. In addition, tens of millions of dollars in reconstruction funds may be spent on projects … once the fighting stops. Marine lawyers are traveling with combat units, ready to handle compensation claims for battle damage.” Even so, the critical “front” of the battle for Fallujah will not be in Iraq at all. It will be in every house in America, including the White House. What the Iraqi insurgents have learned in the past year of fighting is that they – like the Palestinians in Gaza, the Somalis in Mogadishu, and the Viet Cong in the central highlands – cannot prevail against conventional military firepower. Their strategic target is American (and western) public opinion. Their only hope of success is that enough televised beheadings of kidnapped civilian hostages will overthrow public opinion and prompt an American military exodus from Iraq. So it is not just time for our brave Marines to gird themselves for the battle of Fallujah. It is time that each one of us here at home recognize the strategic importance of this battle and gird ourselves for the hard tasks and horrific TV images to come.

To: LindyBill who wrote (84342)	11/6/2004 9:41:45 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793817

Arafat has marked Kadoumi as his successor It's of a piece with Arafat's apres moi, le deluge philosophy. Of course the Palestinian street is not going to meekly accept the rule of some "Tunisian" who's not even in the country. Abu Sock Puppet remains a cipher no matter what office he supposedly holds, or with whom. debka say Hamas and PIJ and spreading rumors that Israel had Arafat poisoned to whip up the incitement. This was entirely predictable. Between the PLO and Hamas, they're going to the make sure that the only contest for leadership is the contest to see who can be more extreme and kill more Israelis to show his power.