Fallujah braces for US reprisal

The Age ^ | April 3, 2004 | Paul McGeough

[Piefloater]

The predominantly Sunni city of Fallujah is braced for what US leaders, from the White House down, promise will be an "overwhelming" response to the brutal deaths of four US security contractors in the city on Wednesday.

There were sporadic attacks across Iraq yesterday, but in the aftermath of scenes reminiscent of a horror film - in which the bodies of the four were incinerated and dragged around the city behind vehicles before being dismembered or left hanging from a bridge - an eerie and shocked silence descended on the country.

Internationally, particularly in the US, there was outrage.

Brigadier-General Mark Kimmitt, the main spokesman for the US military in Baghdad, warned that 4000 US marines stationed near Fallujah would respond. "They are going to hunt down the people responsible for this bestial act," he said. "It will be at a time and a place of our choosing. It will be methodical, it will be precise and it will be overwhelming."

Pressed on the decision by the marines not to intervene in Wednesday's mayhem, Colonel Michael Walker, a civil affairs commander for the marines, said: "Should we have sent in a tank so we could have gotten, with all due respect, four dead bodies back?

"What good would that have done? A mob is a mob. We would have just provoked them. The smart play was to let this thing fade out."

US administrator Paul Bremer, who on Thursday was watched over by a 10-strong private security detail from Blackwater USA, the company that employed the four dead men, described the killers as human jackals, and their work as "an example of the ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism".

Lieutenant-Colonel Saad Jasim, head of the 900-strong Iraqi military unit in Fallujah, explained the failure of his men and the local police to respond: "We were only told about it when it had finished. By the time we arrived there was no one there."

But there seemed to be unanimity across the US political and military establishment that Fallujah would not be a repeat of Mogadishu in 1993 - the Somali capital from which the Americans retreated in shock after the dead crew of a downed Black Hawk helicopter were subjected to similar mutilation.

In Fallujah, the bodies of the four Americans were not retrieved until late on Wednesday, when local clerics and policemen handed them, wrapped in blankets, to US officials.

The attack that preceded the desecration was similar to many of the insurgency assaults on US occupation forces in Iraq, few of which have been claimed by any particular group. But on Thursday, leaflets were distributed in Fallujah claiming the attack on behalf of the Group of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, saying it was retribution for the controversial Israeli assassination last month of the spiritual leader of Hamas.

The reaction of Iraqis was mixed. Local television treated the deaths as major news, but many of Baghdad's new newspapers gave it secondary treatment. Some Iraqis wanted to separate pride in the success of the initial attack on the two US vehicles in Fallujah from revulsion at the treatment of the dead.

[pickemuphere]

This is all talk and bluff. What are we going to do, carpet bomb the place? I expect we'll run a couple of raids (perhaps with catchy names attached) but otherwise turn the other cheek. This is Somalia all over again -- this time with a Republican at the helm..

[Huck]

Can't wait for our overwhelming response

Me either.

[CatoRenasci]

Are you a troll?

[johnb838]

NO divisions necessary. There are not enough of the bad actors, and there are enough Iraqi civil defense people to man the pickets. It's true -- the mass murder of men, women, and children is probably not a great idea. But we will pacify this city.

[Piefloater]

You have one of the best, if not the very best, country on the planet.

Thank you for your kind words about Australia. Lets hope Latham doesn't win the next election and it stays that way.

I'm seriously thinking of emigrating in a few years, if your government allows me that is.

If you do decide to emigrate, as far as I'm concerned you will be most welcome. I'm one Australian that believes this country should take even more immigrants than it does now, as long as they go through the appropriate processes. On the other hand, so called "asylum seekers" who arrive unannounced are not welcome.

[r9etb]

Interesting choices of words on these stories. Here it's "reprisals," and others talk about "revenge." Rather than "searching for culprits," they choose to use words that imply Nazi tactics. Nice.

[Prince Charles]

Some Iraqis wanted to separate pride in the success of the initial attack on the two US vehicles in Fallujah from revulsion at the treatment of the dead.

We'll give them something to be proud of all right....

[r9etb]

Are you a troll?

LOL! I was thinking along the lines of "diminished mental capacity," and probably a fan of Pat Buchanan.

[nightdriver]

Surround the place and turn it into smoldering kitty litter.

[bondjamesbond]

But there seemed to be unanimity across the US political and military establishment that Fallujah would not be a repeat of Mogadishu in 1993 - the Somali capital from which the Americans retreated in shock after the dead crew of a downed Black Hawk helicopter were subjected to similar mutilation

It is about time the Islamobombers realize that Bubba is not President anymore. President Bush will not give the Islamabombers a victory to protect his numbers on a daily tracking poll. This type of tactic is going to earn them nothing but pain.

It is high time we taught this lesson. We have lost too many people over the years in the cause of keeping Clintoon's poll numbers over 51%.

[Alberta's Child]

I posted a story yesterday about an old friend of mine who trained dogs for a living. He could train even the most difficult dog you've ever seen, but if you wanted to hire him you first had to agree to one specific term: You are never, ever allowed to complain about his training methods.

Give this guy a dog for six weeks, and you'll be shocked at what comes back. His own pet was one of the biggest dogs I've ever seen -- a cross between a timberwolf and a husky -- and you've never seen a more docile animal in your life. A small child could ride this animal like a horse, and he wouldn't even offer a hint that he wasn't happy about it. But God help the poor bastard who ever tried to break into this guy's house while the "dog" was home.

If you told me that this guy could train a wolverine or mountain lion to serve as a house pet for children, I'd believe you. I'll bet he's got some creative ideas about "domesticating" Fallujah, too.

[ysoitanly]

My thoughts exactly. Troll-like comment, hopefully to be ignored. We need to exact vengeance in a very precise way. What I expect is happening is that each video image of the murderers and participants is now being analyzed and enlarged for dealings with special forces. We need to cut the PC and act like we are OCCUPYING the place, as we are. Ration fuel, water, and other necessities, rout out the thugs and destroy their operations and homes. They do not understand 'winning hearts and minds' - but they will respect force and justice. I hope we surprise them and they keep the media out of it. We need to clean out the rats' nest NOW.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

SADDAM HUSSEIN SHOULD BE DRAWN AND QUARTERED BY FOUR TANKS IN PUBLIC IN THE MIDDLE OF FALLUJAH WITH THE WORLD'S CAMERAS ROLLING!

[CatoRenasci]

No, you don't take any chances here. Even if we end up not needing the two divisions, the show of force will have a calming effect. There are more of the bad actors than you think in that part of Iraq. Even if they're only 5% of the population, that's 10,000 or so, and the local population will hide them unless they think it is a death sentence to do so.

[CalKat]

Some of the other posts also sound like the Warsaw Ghetto.

[tomswiftjr]

Falluja delenda est!

[Eurotwit]

I know. There was quite a row between Australia and Norway a few years back conserning the Tampa incident.

Suffice to say, I was one of the few people arguing John Howards case.


As far as moving to Australia, I probably would join the cracy Queenslanders anyways, so I would stay out of the way of civilized people (I am a UQ graduate). :-)

Just saw the Reds get thrashed by the Brumbies :-)

Then again, Sydney is also a terrific place....

[fish hawk]

so quit talking and do it already. The bad guys probably left town by now. Send me over there and give me the authority and I will make you happy, 'cause you see, I'm not politically correct nor do I care what old Europe thinks.

[Eurotwit]

It's more complicated than that. Our aims in Iraq are way more complex than they were in Somalia.

[Unknowing]

This is what Syria's Hafez al-Assad (or actually his brother Rifaat) did with his Muslim Brotherhood enemies in a Sunni city called Hama, which once contained about 180,000 inhabitants. The operation worked. The Sunnis do understand force, according to this historical precedent.