NuclearShadows
02-01-2008, 09:37 PM
Déjà vu in Fallujah?
It seems that if we are not careful and extremely diplomatic we could witness another assault on Fallujah.
A crucial Iraqi ally of the United States in its recent successes in the country is threatening to withdraw his support and allow al-Qa’ida to return if his fighters are not incorporated into the Iraqi army and police.” If there is no change in three months there will be war again,” said Abu Marouf, the commander of 13,000 fighters who formerly fought the Americans. He and his men switched sides last year to battle al-Qa’ida and defeated it in its main stronghold in and around Fallujah.
“If the Americans think they can use us to crush al-Qa’ida and then push us to one side, they are mistaken,” Abu Marouf told The Independent in an interview in a scantily furnished villa beside an abandoned cemetery near the village of Khandari outside Fallujah. He said that all he and his tribal following had to do was stand aside and al-Qa’ida’s fighters would automatically come back. If they did so he might have to ally himself to a resurgent al-Qa’ida in order to “protect myself and my men”. (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/28/6680/)
More on the battle for Fallujah: Operation Phantom Fury ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fallujah)
The aftermath was pure destruction and 250,000 people fled. There are only 25,000 people who have returned.
There have been charges of war crimes (http://www.democracynow.org/2004/11/19/u_s_war_crimes_in_fallujah) there including the use of Mark 77 fire bombs which are essentially Napalm, which is outlawed under international law. US officials initially denied claims that napalm weapons were being used (http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive_Index/Illegal_Weapons_in_Fallujah.html) but later admitted that we used them.
As far as battles in this war, Operation Phantom Fury was very ugly and illustrates the true horrors that war is.... Hope it doesn't happen again....
It seems that if we are not careful and extremely diplomatic we could witness another assault on Fallujah.
A crucial Iraqi ally of the United States in its recent successes in the country is threatening to withdraw his support and allow al-Qa’ida to return if his fighters are not incorporated into the Iraqi army and police.” If there is no change in three months there will be war again,” said Abu Marouf, the commander of 13,000 fighters who formerly fought the Americans. He and his men switched sides last year to battle al-Qa’ida and defeated it in its main stronghold in and around Fallujah.
“If the Americans think they can use us to crush al-Qa’ida and then push us to one side, they are mistaken,” Abu Marouf told The Independent in an interview in a scantily furnished villa beside an abandoned cemetery near the village of Khandari outside Fallujah. He said that all he and his tribal following had to do was stand aside and al-Qa’ida’s fighters would automatically come back. If they did so he might have to ally himself to a resurgent al-Qa’ida in order to “protect myself and my men”. (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/28/6680/)
More on the battle for Fallujah: Operation Phantom Fury ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fallujah)
The aftermath was pure destruction and 250,000 people fled. There are only 25,000 people who have returned.
There have been charges of war crimes (http://www.democracynow.org/2004/11/19/u_s_war_crimes_in_fallujah) there including the use of Mark 77 fire bombs which are essentially Napalm, which is outlawed under international law. US officials initially denied claims that napalm weapons were being used (http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive_Index/Illegal_Weapons_in_Fallujah.html) but later admitted that we used them.
As far as battles in this war, Operation Phantom Fury was very ugly and illustrates the true horrors that war is.... Hope it doesn't happen again....