The facts about Fallujah (Aussie General slams lefty lies)

The Australian letter page ^ | 02 August 2008 | Maj. Gen. (ret) Jim Molan

[Dundee]

CHRIS Doran (Letters, 1/8) is entitled to his view, but he gets just about everything wrong about my account of the Iraq war...

The assault was neither disproportionate nor was it indiscriminate; it was conducted strictly in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and undertaken to remove a safe haven for terrorists/insurgents whose crimes against the people we have publicly documented...

White phosphorous is as terrible as any battlefield weapon but it is not a chemical weapon and is not illegal if used against enemy forces as it was in Fallujah...

Far from closing down Fallujah’s hospital, the coalition took it away from insurgents who were using it as a headquarters and propaganda centre... At no stage did we ever intentionally fire on ambulances giving aid and we often refrained from firing on ambulances which were regularly and criminally misused by our enemy... Cluster bombs were never used... US snipers shooting civilians is an accusation rebutted by embedded media at the time.

Chris, you and I may not agree on much about the Iraq war but you have the benefit of a knowledge-free vantage point. I’m hampered by knowing at least some facts. Please read the book.

[Dundee]

In April 2004, Major General Molan deployed for a year to Iraq as the Chief of Operations, Headquarters Multinational Force – Iraq during continuous and intense combat operations. This period covered the Iraqi elections in January 2005, and the pre-election shaping battles of Najaf, TalAfar, Samarra, Fallujah, Ramadan 04 and Mosul. For distinguished command and leadership in action in Iraq, Major General Molan was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the Australian Government and the Legion of Merit by the United States Government.

He retired 2 months ago and has written an excellent book 'Running the War in Iraq' on his experiences in Iraq. Since retirement he has vigorously defended our actions in Iraq and has berated both sides of Australian politics for poor understanding and management of Defence issues.

[Former Dodger]

Bump for later

[marron]

Chris, you and I may not agree on much about the Iraq war but you have the benefit of a knowledge-free vantage point. I’m hampered by knowing at least some facts.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The great secret of Fallujah is the great secret of the entire WoT.

al-Qaeda was dispersed in every corner of the planet, threatening civil war and effective terrorism in two dozen or more countries. In such a situation, it would have been impossible to fight them militarily.

But first in Afghanistan, then Iraq, we created circumstances where the very best that al-Qaeda could produce would leave their host nations and come to fight our soldiers. It should have been planned that way, and I hope we had the foresight to cause it to have happened that way.

Afghanistan, and later Iraq, were in effect gigantic roach motels.

They came to our battlefield, to fight our well-trained and equipped soldiers, instead of infiltrating our nations and attacking our civilians at times, places, and means of their choosing.

And even in Iraq, the enemy was more dispersed than we wanted, so intentionally or not, we permitted safe havens to be established by them. Not only did their arrogance, villainy and viciousness soon lead people who had been very hostile to the US to *want* us to rout al-Qaeda; but the very idea that they had an “enclave” where they could concentrate, appealed to their bad judgment.

Fallujah was just such a place. al-Qaeda occupied it, and began to oppress the rather obnoxious Fallujans horribly. Seeing it as the new capital of their “emirate”, al-Qaeda from all over Iraq and even newcomers flowed to it, concentrated in it.

Just like cockroaches to a baited roach motel.

And this was *exactly* the way our soldiers wanted to fight them.

Even within the city itself, we chose the battlefield. We picked an industrial area, away from where the local citizenry lived, and the foolish enemy flowed there, entering kill zones again and again that no professional soldier would dare enter.

And in Fallujah, our military smote them horribly. In doing so, they have systematically eliminated the most dangerous terrorists around, men who had they stayed home could have killed tens of thousands, and oppressed hundreds of thousands. Terrorists who would have subverted and taken over nations, and given vast aid and comfort to those who would menace us at home.

The world is a better place for the battle of Fallujah, and hopefully intentionally, but in any event, our soldiers and Marines should be given high honors for it and a hundred other battles to the same end.

[smoketree]

Great analisysof the strategic importance of Iraq. Bush picked the battlefield. Their living room. They had no choice but to show up and die or have the US Military in force in their own house.

[Lancey Howard]

(( ping ))

Check this out....

[dighton]

Chris, you and I may not agree on much about the Iraq war but you have the benefit of a knowledge-free vantage point.

Worthy of framing.

[Dick Vomer]

you are describing the best of allied tactics and the worst of the guerilla tactics.

rule one for the guerillas was NEVER to engage in face to face combat unless overwhelming force can be applied to target. Those dumb#sses went toe to toe with Marine and Army units in conventional urban warfare.

When an enemy masses to fight, melt away. When they are resting , attack. Disappear where they assemble and show up at their rear.

The best part of it all is that it really doesn't matter to the muzzies. They're dumber than a box of rocks so they will not or can not read Mao's book and apply tactics.

they just like killing and think that killing is what makes war.

They were trying to pull a Tet but unfortunately nobody believes the MSM and the internet is yanking the planks from the propaganda war.

bwahahahahahaa..... just keep getting intel and target the bad guys, I'd go hunting every night if I was 25 years younger.

Some optics, sat-com, 4-5 other guys and gee, we'd just have a little party all night, every night......

[Chances Are]

Nice post, very eloquently stated.

Any chance you’re a military historian?

CA....

[jazusamo]

Thanks for the ping, Lancey.

I believe that’s an Aussie Generals way of ripping an ahole a new one, he sounds like a very good man.

[jazusamo]

Bump!

[rlmorel]

BRAVO! BRAVO!

Well put!

I read “No True Glory” by Bing West, and it made me feell a debt of gratitude to those men for completely taking the enemy to the cleaners.

Just wow.

[ASOC]

THanks for posting

ALso of note

Willie Peter will make you a believer

and for the leftists
Rats get fat while good men die.....

[JennysCool]

It should have been planned that way, and I hope we had the foresight to cause it to have happened that way.

President Bush said throughout the conflict that that was the case. There was never any mystery about it, except the ones concocted in the Leftist press.

[RedRover]

Thanks, Lancey.

[xzins]

Excellent article by the Aussie general. Then I went on to read some of the unbelievably ignorant comments left by readers of the Australian, so I, too, left a comment. I don't know if they'll publish it, but it went as follows:

A terrorist is a terrorist because his chosen intentional target is a non-combatant. An insurgent is an insurgent because he is part of an irregular armed force that fights against a larger armed force by means of sabotage and harassment. In Iraq, the terrorists were primarily Al Qaeda, and they were not, in most cases, native Iraqis. They might have been welcomed at early points in the conflict, but their strategy of murdering Iraqis made them unwelcome in Iraq. Likewise, the "insurgents" in Iraq who were locally led were mollified by advances of the new Iraqi government, so that they now work with it rather than against it. Remaining pockets of resistance in Iraq, and there are very few at this point, continue to be terrorist in nature.

Face facts, the conflict in Iraq is over...in the mop-up phase. It is being won by the Iraqi government's military superiority. Accept it. The new Iraqi government is in power, and they are there to stay.

[4woodenboats]

BTTT

Good article, GREAT posts.

Thanks for the ping, Lancey

[dighton]

This rates another bump.