by Bing West
With a vehicle destroyed, the group fought their way out on foot, with Kelly refusing to divert air support from another battle to cover his movement. “We’ll handle this,” he said.
He reached the highway just as a National Guard supply convoy, fleeing from an ambush, raced into the Marine cantonment. Kelly had to act as a traffic cop as the Marines drove out to attack the ambushers while the supply drivers were driving inside the gates to escape the ambushers. The captain in charge of the convoy nervously explained that her drivers had never been in Iraq, let alone in combat. Kelly angrily thought of some dispatcher sitting in air-conditioned comfort in Kuwait casually sending them north as if they would be driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It was insane to send them alone up a highway that passed near Fallujah. To settle their nerves, he let them stay another day before proceeding to Baghdad, escorted by a Marine rifle platoon.
pulled back . . . There were three key American maneuvers on the battlefield in mid-April. The first was the battle for Ramadi, provoked by the insurgents. The second was the dispatch by LtGen Sanchez, with the enthusiastic support of Bremer, of the 1st Armored Division to hound and corral Sadr’s militia. MajGen Dempsey’s soldiers prevented a chaotic situation from spinning out of control among the Shiites. The second action was the decision by Mattis to sweep the area west of Baghdad. By moving fast and in force, Task Force Ripper under Col Tucker reopened the highways from Fallujah to Baghdad and clamped a lid on the spontaneous uprising sweeping like a prairie fire toward Baghdad. While they lacked sustaining logistics and command and control, they had enthusiasm, manpower, mobility (via pickups and cars), popular support, and momentum. Task Force Ripper stopped the Sunni insurgents from rolling into Baghdad from the west while Sadr’s militia was battling in the streets to the east. For a few weeks they hovered close to the tipping point where the Sunni population, latently sympathetic, could have poured onto the streets and highways, changing the dynamics of the conflict. Militarily, it was a near miss for the insurgents.
Conversely, Fallujah was a military diversion for the insurgents even as it emerged as a political rallying point. By rushing inside Fallujah, insurgent fighters diverted themselves from the high-payoff strategy of squeezing and discombobulating Baghdad. While the momentum of the Sunni insurgency was checked on the military chessboard, the rebel stronghold inside Fallujah remained intact as political maneuvers prevented the Marines from applying force.
CHAPTER 17
sandbags . . . Darrin Mortenson, “Troops Take Over Houses of Fleeing Fallujah Residents,” North County Times, April 15, 2004.
sharia . . . Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam (New York: Random House, 2003), pp. 10, 31.
day by day . . . Jeffrey Gettleman, “Marines in Falluja Still Face and Return Relentless Fire,” New York Times, April 14, 2004.
British journalist . . . Patrick Graham, “Falluja in Their Sights,” Guardian, October 21, 2004.
eighty-two buildings . . . RCT 1 Ops Center, “Air Officer Computer Records of Air Strikes,” July 22, 2004.
storyline . . . Stephen Farrell, “Fleeing Family Films Scenes from City Racked by Violence,” Times (London), April 13, 2004.
resolve the siege . . . UN Situation Report 199FAB, April 19–25, 2004.
broken weapons . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Karl Vick, “Marines Say Time Running Short in Fallujah,” Washington Post, April 23, 2004, p. 10.
weapons . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Pamela Constable, “Deal Struck on Fallujah Attacks,” Washington Post, April 20, 2004, p. 1.
days, not weeks, away . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Karl Vick, “Marines Say Time Running Short in Fallujah,” Washington Post, April 23, 2004, p. 10.
siege . . . Eric Schmitt, “U.S. General at Falluja Warns a Full Attack Could Come Soon,” New York Times, April 22, 2004, p. A15.
notice . . . UN Situation Report 199FAB, L. Paul Bremer Speech of April 23, 2004.
army of occupation . . . Associated Press, April 26, 2004.
CHAPTER 18
give them support . . . ABC Television, Presidential Debate, September 30, 2004.
Fallujah is returning to normal . . . Jason Keyser, “U.S. Forces Continue to Battle Insurgents,” Associated Press, April 23, 2004, p. 26.
Thirty-two . . . Nicholas Riccardi, “A Peacemaker Runs the Gauntlet in Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2004.
Marines had died . . . Between April 1 and 24 six Marines had been killed in Fallujah in 2/1; five in 1/5 plus one attached AAV; and three in 3/4. Source: RCT 1 April Casualty Roll-up.
hand-wringing . . . Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 178.
relations impact . . . Alissa J. Rubin and Doyle McManus, “Why America Has Waged a Losing Battle on Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2004.
hostilities could resume shortly . . . L. Paul Bremer III, Televised Address, Baghdad, April 23, 2004.
cautioned that widespread uprisings . . . David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker, “Bush’s Decision on Possible Attack on Falluja Seems Near,” New York Times, April 24, 2004, p. A1.
antibody in their culture. . . . Michael R. Gordon, “Debate Lingering on Decision to Dissolve the Iraqi Military,” New York Times, October 21, 2004.
damage to the city . . . John Kifner and John F. Burns, “Inside Falluja, a Cease-Fire in Name Only,” New York Times, April 26, 2004, p. A1.
Arab TV crews . . . Jim Hoagland, “On Tiptoe in Iraq,” washingtonpost.com, July 25, 2004.
three hundred . . . Stu Jones, 1st MarDiv headquarters, May 9, 2004.
joint patrol . . . Richard W. Stevenson and David E. Sanger, “For Bush, Same Goal in Iraq, New Tactics,” New York Times, May 2, 2004.
350 Iraqi . . . Tony Perry, “Insurgents Spark a Fierce Battle in Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2004, p. 6.
crime was rampant . . . Stu Jones, 1st MarDiv headquarters, May 9, 2004.
the minimum casualties possible . . . David Sanger and Thom Shanker, “Bush’s Decision on Possible Attack on Falluja Seems Near,” New York Times, April 25, 2004.
banana trees . . . Jeffrey Gettleman, “The Baathification of Fallujah,” New York Times Magazine, June 20, 2004, p. 51.
demonstrates a level of leadership . . . LtGen Conway, Press Conference at the MEF, May 1, 2004.
CHAPTER 19
insurgents understand is violence . . . Tony Perry and Rick Loomis, “Mosque Targeted in Fallouja Fighting,” Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2004, p. 1.
CHAPTER 20
Marines sitting in a cordon . . . LtGen Conway, interview by author, MEF headquarters outside Fallujah, July 24, 2004.
someone who can . . . LtGen Conway, Press Conference, Camp Fallujah, May 1, 2004.
everything . . . John F. Burns, “U.S. Pummels Rebel Positions as Fierce Clash Shakes Falluja,” New York Times, April 28, 2004.
occupation . . . Louis Meixler, “Iraq’s Council Chief: U.S. Is at Fault,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 27, 2004.
not delivered . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Sewell Chan, “Warplanes Pound Sections of Fallujah,” Washington Post, April 29, 2004, p. 1.
three dozen laser-guided bombs . . . Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, “A Full Range of Technology Is Applied to Bomb Falluja,” New York Times, April 30, 2004, p. A1.
was furious . . . Alissa J. Rubin and Doyle McManus, “Why America Has Waged a Losing Battle on Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2004.
majority . . . Michael Rabin, “Losing the Shia,” Middle East Quarterly, August 19, 2003.
calling the agreement “appeasement” . . . Rubin and McManus, “Why America Has Waged a Losing Battle on Fallouja.”
press and political attention . . . CBS 60 Minutes, April 28, 2004.
injustices . . . James Risen, “G.I.’s Are Accused of Abusing Iraqi Captives,” New York Times, April 29, 2004.
knowing nothing . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Deal Brings Old Uniforms Back in Style,” Washington Post, May 7, 2004, p. A1.
poisonous . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Mistakes Loom Large as Handover Nears,”Washington Post, June 20, 2004, p. A1.
there’s a disconnect . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Marines Plan Handoff to Militia in Falluja,” Washington Post, April 30, 2004, p. 1.
Ad hoc . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Deal Brings Old Uniforms Back in Style,” Washington Post, May 7, 2004, p. A1.
Latif as “conversations going on” . . . Tony Perry, Jeffrey Fleishman, and Patrick J. McDonnell, “Fallouja Pullout May Be in Works,” Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2004, p. 1.
from Baghdad to the Beltway . . . LtGen Conway, Press Conference, MEF headquarters, May 1, 2004.
Fox News . . . Gen Myers, interview by Chris Wallace, May 2, 2004, Fox News.
a strong fight in there . . . Katarina Kratovac, “Marines Hand Over Falluja to Iraqis,” Star and Stripes, Mideast ed., May 2, 2004, p. 3.
here to free them . . . John Kifner, “The Marines Enter Falluja, With Peace Their Aim,” New York Times, May 11, 2004, p. A12.
They know the populace . . . John Kifner and Ian Fisher, “U.S. Weighs Falluja Pullback, Leaving Patrols to Iraq Troops,” New York Times, April 30, 2004, p. 1.
grated . . . Alissa J. Rubin and Doyle McManus, “Why America Has Waged a Losing Battle on Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2004, p. A1.
went in . . . Agence France-Presse, “Some Marines Angry over Deal to Pull Out of Fallujah,” Patrick Moser, April 30, 2004.
killed . . . Ibid.
parts of the conversation . . . LtGen Conway, Press Conference, MEF headquarters, May 1, 2004.
just verbal orders. . . . Ibid.
catch up . . . Wallace interview, Fox News, May 2, 2004
Blackwater atrocities . . . Myers interview, May 2, 2004.
succeeded . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Fallujah Rejoices Amid US Pullback,” Washington Post, May 2, 2004, p. 1.
have not flinched . . . John Kifner, “On or Off? Odd US. Alliance with an Ex-Hussein General,” New York Times, May 3, 2004.
many of these men . . . Jeffrey Gettleman, “The Re-Baathification of Falluja,” New York Times Sunday Magazine, June 20, 2004, p. 55.
their city . . . Interview by author, MEF headquarters, July 24, 2004.
CHAPTER 21
music blared . . . Dah Jamali, “Falluja Rebels, Residents Celebrate Victory over US Marines,” New Standard, June 15, 2004.
everyone was a mujahedeen . . . Christine Hauser and John Kifner, “Falluja District Begins to Relax as Iraqi Force Patrols the Streets,” New York Times, May 10, 2004.
out of politics . . . Dexter Filkins, “Falluja Pullout Left Haven of Insurgents, Officials Say,” New York Times, July 8, 2004, p. 1.
shared responsibility . . . President Bush speech at Army War College, May 24, 2004.
approval rating . . . Washington Post Web, about.com, May 15, 2004.
highest monthly total . . . http://icasualties.org/oif/, April 2004.
clearly saved a lot of lives . . . Thom Shanker, “U.S. Shifts Focus in Iraq to Aiding New Government,” New York Times, June 1, 2004.
mantra . . . Tony Perry, Patrick J. McDonnell, and Alissa J. Rubin, “Deadly April Battle Became a Turning Point for Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2004, p. 1.
150 air strikes . . . RCT 1 air officer computer records, RCT 1 ops center, May 7, 2004.
between 35,000 and 45,000 civilians . . . Rachel Jordan, “Dresden: An Allied Air Raid with Axis Tactics,” Stones from the River, at meredith.edu, October 23, 2004.
posted a video . . . BBC News, “Zarqawi Beheaded US Man,” May 13, 2004.
bloody torso . . . See Nicholas Berg, Wikipedia.org.
outsiders . . . Press conference at the Falluja Liaison Center, May 20, 2004.
murderous bastards . . . Ibid.
more defeats . . . Testimony before Congress, May 21, 2004, quoted in Project for the New American Century, May 24, 2004.
reporters . . . Daniel Williams, “Reporting Under the Gun in an Ambush Zone,” Washington Post Foreign Service, June 8, 2004, p. C1.
joined them . . . Daniel Williams, “Despite Agreement, Insurgents Rule Fallujah,” Washington Post Foreign Service, June 7, 2004, p. A15.
mess with . . . Laura King, “Insurgents and Islam Now Rulers of Fallouja,” Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2004.
sharia . . . Ibid.
haircuts . . . Associated Press, “Hardline Islamic Leaders Assert Power in Falluja,” May 26, 2004.
latest haul . . . Major David Bellon, e-mail to author, September 18, 2004.
trickled into . . . Fooad Al Sheikhly and Jeffrey Gettleman, “Iraqi Official Says U.S. Raid Aimed to Kill Foreign Rebels,” New York Times, June 21, 2004, p. A9.
liberated city . . . Dahr Jamail, “Falluja, Pacified,” New Standard, June 3, 2004.
for ransom . . . Sameer N. Yacoub, “Fallujah Police Accused of Giving Up Shiite Truckers to Sunni Executioners,” CNN NEWS, June 15, 2004.
disemboweled . . . Hannah Allam, “Extremism Sweeping Iraq Among Sunni, Shiite Muslims Alike,” azcentral.com, June 15, 2004.
communards . . . Alistair Horne, Seven Ages of Paris (New York: Vintage Books, 2004), p. 262.
Zarqawi . . . Edward Worg and James Glanz, “South Korean Worker Is Beheaded by Iraqi Terrorists,” New York Times, June 23, 2004, p. A11.
Sun-il . . . See Kim Sun-il, Wikipedia.org.
supposition . . . Daniel Williams, “Despite Agreement, Insurgents Rule Fallujah,” Washington Post, June 7, 2004.
thirty bombings . . . Michael Rubin, “The Fallujah Problem: A Job That Needs Doing,” National Review, June 25, 2004.
against safe houses . . . Associated Press, “Large Explosions Rock Falluja,” June 22, 2004.
executing fourteen . . . Borzou Daragahi, “Fallujah Ruled Taliban-style: Liquor, Pop Music Banned by Militants Who Are Taking Control of Iraqi City,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 24, 2004.
CHAPTER 22
faint heartbeat . . . Damien McElroy, “New Iraqi Police Fight US Troops Who Trained Them,” Daily Telegraph, June 27, 2004.
all-day battle . . . Edward Cody, “Scores Killed as Insurgents Launch Attacks Across Iraq,” Washington Post, June 24, 2004.
bombs . . . Naseer Al-Nahr, Al Jazeera, July 7, 2004.
right direction . . . Dexter Filkins, “Fallujah Pullout Left Haven of Insurgents, Officials Say,” New York Times, July 8, 2004, p. A1.
worst place . . . CNN, CNN Presents: Countdown to Handover of Iraq, June 27, 2004, transcript.
vipers . . . Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2004.
fiefdoms . . . Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, “Fallujah Is Calm by the Time I Arrive,” Weekend Australian, July 3, 2004.
new jihadists . . . Michael Ware, “Meet the New Jihad,” Time, June 27, 2004.
incubator . . . Edward Cody, “Sunni Resistance to US Presence Hardens,” Washington Post, July 7, 2004, p. A1.
massive force . . . Jack Fairweather reporting from Baghdad for the Telegraph (UK), July 3, 2004.
electrician . . . Hamza Hendawi, “Insurgent-held Fallujah Was Under Sway of Local Electrician and Mosque Imam,” Associated Press, November 24, 2004.
upscale compound . . . Anthony Shadid, “Sunni Cleric Says Fallujah Attracted Hundreds of Recruits,” Washington Post, December 12, 2004, p. A32.
Zarqawi took him . . . Charles Crain, “Iraqi Leader Authorizes U.S. Strike in Fallujah,” USA Today, July 19, 2004, p. 6.
Islamic Emirate . . . Pepe Escobar, “The Islamic Emirate of Fallujah,” Asia Times, July 16 and 31, 2004.
under way . . . James Glanz and Erik Eckholm, “Reality Intrudes on Promises of Rebuilding Iraq,” New York Times, June 30, 2004, p. A1.
four thousand . . . Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Demise of Iraqi Units Symbolic of U.S. Errors,” Washington Post, September 25, 2004, p. A1.
Decisions about Fallujah . . . Gregg Zoroya, “If Ramadi Falls, ‘Province Goes to Hell,’ ” USA Today, July 11, 2004, pp. 31, 1A.
31 ki
lled . . . Ibid.
284 wounded . . . Lawrence W. Korb and Nigel Holmes, “Two Years and Counting,” New York Times, March 20, 2005, p A13.
Overall, the Marines comprised 20 percent of the American personnel in Iraq and had suffered 30 percent of the fatalities. Contrary to the myth that the poor, the minorities, and the uneducated do the fighting for America, 95 percent of the fallen had graduated from high school, 75 percent were white, 11 percent Hispanic, and 9 percent African American—numbers that roughly reflect the population as a whole.
scared away . . . Gideon Long, “Iraq’s Road to Reconstruction Studded with Potholes,” Reuters, February 23, 2005.
any alarm . . . Pamela Hess, “Ramadi Posts Seen as ‘Symbol of Occupation,’ ” United Press International, August 19, 2004.
Al Jazeera’s office . . . Hassan M. Fattah, “The Arab Media Decide to Focus Coverage on the Voting, Not the Violence,” New York Times, January 30, 2005, p. A14.
police station in Najaf . . . Headquarters United States Central Command, August 5, 2004. Release Number 04-08-19.
negotiate . . . John F. Burns and Sabrina Tavernise, “Iraqi Government Gives Sadr a Final Chance to End Uprising,” New York Times, August 19, 2004.
stolen police cars . . . “Najaf Unrest,” Los Angeles Times, October 2004.
pulverized corpse . . . Major Bellon, e-mail to author, August 17, 2004.
head . . . John F. Burns and Erik Eckholm, “In Western Iraq, Fundamentalists Hold U.S. at Bay,” New York Times, August 29, 2004, p. A1.
years to come . . . Pamela Hess, “Marines Disband Fallujah Forces,” United Press International, August 14, 2004.
dealt with accordingly . . . Major Bellon, e-mail to author, August 26, 2004.
inside the city . . . Pamela Hess, “Fallujans May Be Invited into Iraqi Army,” United Press International, August 15, 2004.
terror had spawned . . . John F. Burns and Erik Eckholm, “In Western Iraq, Fundamentalists Hold U.S. at Bay,” New York Times, August 29, 2004, p. A1.