Key General Criticizes April Attack In Fallujah Abrupt Withdrawal Called Vacillation By Rajiv Chandrasekaran Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, September 13, 2004; Page A17
FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sept. 12 -- The outgoing U.S. Marine Corps general in charge of western Iraq said Sunday he opposed a Marine assault on militants in the volatile city of Fallujah in April and the subsequent decision to withdraw from the city and turn over control to a security force of former Iraqi soldiers.
That security force, known as the Fallujah Brigade, was formally disbanded last week. Not only did the brigade fail to combat militants, it actively aided them, surrendering weapons, vehicles and radios to the insurgents, according to senior Marine officers. Some brigade members even participated in attacks on Marines ringing the city, the officers said.
The comments by Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, made shortly after he relinquished command of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force on Sunday, amounted to a stinging broadside against top U.S. military and civilian leaders who ordered the Fallujah invasion and withdrawal. His statements also provided the most detailed explanation -- and justification -- of Marine actions in Fallujah this spring, which have been widely criticized for increasing insurgent activity in the city and turning it into a "no-go" zone for U.S. troops.
... He would not say where the order to attack originated, only that he received an order from his superior at the time, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the overall commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. Some senior U.S. officials in Iraq have said the command originated in the White House. ... Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16309-2004Sep12.html
Bring ‘em on: Car bomb at Baghdad police station kills 35 Iraqis.
Bring ‘em on: Twenty Iraqis killed in US air strikes in Fallujah.
Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers killed, three wounded in Baghdad ambush.
Bring ‘em on: Insurgents execute Turkish truck driver in Iraq.
Bring ‘em on: Insurgents capture two Australian security contractors in convoy ambush near Samarra.
Bring ‘em on: Camp Zulu mortared again.
Bring ‘em on: Six Iraqis killed, seven wounded by US artillery fire near Hilla.
Bring ‘em on: Eight US soldiers wounded in Baghdad car bombing.
Bring ‘em on: Eight Iraqi police killed, two wounded in ambush near Baquba.
Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline ablaze near Beiji.
How to screw up a counterinsurgency. “Even now, the get-tough approach is showing signs of backfiring. On Sunday, when a suicide bomber crippled an American personnel carrier, a gun battle broke out, followed by an airstrike by two American helicopters. At least 15 Iraqis died and 50 were wounded, including a 12-year-old-girl and a television journalist. Inside the grim and chaotic wards of Baghdad's hospitals on Sunday, the Americans seemed to have made more enemies than friends. On Monday, the scene repeated itself in another corner of Baghdad. When three insurgents opened fire on an American sport utility vehicle, American soldiers sprayed the area with gunfire, destroying three cars and killing at least one Iraqi civilian and wounding three others.”
Another US ally alienated by Bush’s War. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned the U.S. to halt military operations in the northern Iraqi town of Tall Afar, the government-run Anatolia news agency reported on its Web site. Gul said he told U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that, if the action continues, ‘Turkey's cooperation on issues tied to Iraq would be brought to an end,’ Anatolia reported.”
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