Marines Face More Cunning Foe in Fallujah

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_fallujah&cid=540&ncid=1473

FALLUJAH, Iraq - American troops face sporadic but cunning resistance from insurgents as they sweep the city of Fallujah more than a month after U.S. and Iraqi forces invaded the militants' stronghold, U.S. officials said Friday.

They characterized the insurgents who remain as less suicidal than those who fought the initial battle, using a newly discovered tunnel system or knocking holes in walls to move unseen and avoid American troops.

"Pretty much the ones who have wanted to be martyrs outright have been killed and the ones who remain are the smart ones, or the ones who have been able to avoid our clearing forces, so we continue to clear, to back clear, and to clear again," said Lt. Col. Daniel Wilson, deputy for current operations for the 1st Marine Division. snip

The U.S. military claims that 1,200 insurgents were killed in the weeklong invasion to destroy what were believed to be the insurgents' main bases in Iraq (news - web sites). At least 50 Marines and eight Iraqi soldiers also died. No civilian casualty figures have been released.

more

[bemildred]

1. Dang. Who knew there were some smart ones?

I notice we are still sticking to the "At least 50 Marines" meme.

[teryang]

5. they already admitted 72 Americans killed a while ago

The number now is at least 80 and probably closer to a hundred. These deaths published as "somewhere in al anbar province" are virtually all in Fallujah. Allegedly, its an opsec thing not to encourage the "diehards and deadenders" in a heroic struggle by any standard. The effort to disguise the numbers also serves domestic propaganda purposes.

The outcry against Herr Rumsfeldt by republican politicians is a de facto recognition of the political failure to come in Iraq. Even Woolsey, the most die-hard dead-ender neo-con, only gives a 51 percent chance of American success in Iraq and this is because he "is an optimist.

The presence of the ruins and the use of tunnels ( a tactic which is inevitable in this sort of conflict) raises the question of whether the city could ever be secured. Perhaps the Carthaginians should have used tunnels.

[bemildred]

6. Yeah, who could have predicted fighting in ruins and tunnels?

I thought urban warfare was fun? I thought all the electronics gizmos
would make it like Duke Nukem?
:puke:

It is kind of interesting that the process of selecting and demonizing
a scapegoat (Rumsfeldt, I like that) has begun. But they can sacrifice
scapegoats until the cows come home, and they will still will have no
clue about how to get out of this except the obvious one: negotiated
withdrawal. Like: "stop killing us and we will stop killing you and
leave immediately."

[BUSHOUT]

2. they're "slithering" around.

Insurgents are not human. Just like Germans, Japanese, Vietnamese.
This sort of overt psy-ops is what gets me angry with the military.

I mean, if you're going to shoot people and occupy nations then go ahead. Why is it neccessary for your mission to dehumanize the enemy back home?

Because it makes recruiting easier?

[daleo]

4. Yeah, lots of propaganda in that article n/t

[ScrewyRabbit]

3. My, I thought we won there

Who knew that we didn't actually accomplish anything?

[Cocoa]

8. we "broke their back"

supposedly...

[Dark]

7. Guerrillas using tunnels to combat U.S. forces? Can you say 'Quagmire'?n/t

[Mr_Spock]

9. Or "Vietnam"!

Few countries can successfully occupy another without eventually being harmed to the point of having to leave. We are trying to deny their basic human instincs - even being repressed by one of their own was easier to live with than this.