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marinemom
02-16-05, 05:17 AM
In a Calmer Fallujah, Marines Still Feel the Insurgents' Pulse

Washington Post, February 16, 2005

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- The Marines jumped out of their armored vehicles on a quiet dirt road in the center of this battle-torn city, with mounds of crumbled bricks, twisted metal and debris on both sides.

Within minutes, the patrol from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, Weapons Company was surrounded by dozens of hands pulling at their arms and reaching for their pockets.

"Mister, mister," little voices chirped, as a swelling group of 20 children pushed each other out of the way and called out for pieces of chocolate. The older, savvier ones grabbed a baby, borrowing one from a stranger if they had to, held it up and said, "Baby, baby," in English, an effort to get more candy
from the Combined Anti-Armored Team.

Lance Cpl. Richard Setterstrom, a piece of shrapnel still in his leg from a Dec. 12 battle with insurgents, moved beyond the children and past badly damaged houses, each one marked with a red "X" to indicate that it had been cleared of weapons.

"It's weird walking by a house that we burned and seeing a family in it now," said Setterstrom, 19, of Butte, Mont.

"See that house?" said Lance Cpl. Michael Catalano, 19, of Lafayette, Colo., pointing across a large puddle of rainwater and sewage to a brown, two-story structure, its sides blackened from smoke. "A Marine died there."

For these Marines, the relative ease with which they walked through Fallujah one day last week was nearly as jarring as the sudden blasts of gunfire that greeted them during the U.S.-led offensive to retake the city from insurgents in early November. Although Marine commanders declared the battle over about a week after ground forces entered the city, deadly clashes continued through most of December.

The commanders acknowledge that they did not wipe out the insurgents in the assault, the largest military operation since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. But they say the insurgency is in check and the city is under the control of U.S. and Iraqi security forces.

"It's not over," said Col. Michael A. Shupp, commander of the 1st Marine Regiment. "There are a lot of bad guys out there, but we're not giving up."

Shupp said the greatest assets for the Marines fighting the insurgents are the residents, many of whom are cooperating by reporting the locations of weapons caches and suspects.

"The word on the street is that the residents don't want the insurgents in their town," Shupp said. "They only brought death and destruction."

Col. Dan Wilson, operations officer for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is responsible for controlling restive Anbar province in western Iraq, said it was impossible to estimate how many insurgents remained in Fallujah. But
he said they were there, some of them hiding among the returning civilians and others who never left.

The last major clash in the city took place on Dec. 23. Three Marines were killed; 14 others were wounded. Since then, Wilson said, security forces have mostly engaged in small-arms fire with the insurgents.

"They are onesies and twosies," he said. "They take a shot off, and usually it's ineffective small-arms fire. They have difficulty moving. Right now we really consider Fallujah the safest city in Anbar province and maybe in all of Iraq."

So, on a battleground where many of them fought for their lives, U.S. forces are fighting to keep the peace in a city that was once one of the most dangerous in Iraq.

The biggest change for many GIs is the presence of civilians. By the time ground troops roared into the city, most of the nearly 250,000 residents had heeded warnings and fled. In the aftermath of November's offensive, troops expressed surprise when several hundred dazed and hungry civilians emerged from
the rubble.

Since Dec. 23, when the first residents were allowed to return, tens of thousands have poured back in. Many left again after finding that their homes were destroyed during the battle. The Marines estimate that there are about 60,000 people living in the city.

With the encouragement of U.S. troops, many returning families have marked their houses to let security forces know that they are inside. Crude cardboard signs scripted in a borrowed language hang on gates that were broken by advancing troops. "Family in said," one sign read. "Hear family," read another. Many residents also fly white flags fashioned from torn pieces of cloth, soccer jerseys or kitchen aprons.

Marines said that when they started patrolling the streets, residents were standoffish and rarely smiled or waved. Children were the first to approach them, and once they learned that the Marines would give them candy, footballs and soccer balls, they began swarming the patrols. "Saddam bad, George Bush
good," one boy said, repeating a phrase the Marines said he often uses to get candy from them. It usually works.

Another small girl has learned to follow the Marines throughout their hour-long patrol, pausing to shed crocodile tears when she does not get a piece of "chocolata, mister." When she tried to pick the pocket of a visitor who was with the Marines, the visitor swatted her hand. She simply smiled and ran to a Marine
ahead. "Chocolata, mister?" she asked, peering up at him.

Hattam Jasam Hussein, 50, who stopped the Marines on their patrol to show them a pile of empty artillery shells in a muddy field littered with trash, said he was happy the Americans were there.

"We're all very happy, everybody," Hussein said, pulling his leather jacket tighter around his gray dishdasha. "We're relaxed. The Americans protect us. We feel safe."

But, Hussein said, he wants more help rebuilding his house, which was burned during the offensive. "What about fixing the town?" he said. "We need to fix the city."

An Iraqi interpreter who works for the Marines nodded sympathetically and told the man to be patient. He then told him where to go to make a claim for his damages.

After they collected the canisters, the Marines scrambled back into their Humvees. As they roared away, a boy in a red jacket waved and called out in stilted English: "Thanks for coming."

HardJedi
02-16-05, 11:53 AM
Originally posted by marinemom

"We're all very happy, everybody," Hussein said, pulling his leather jacket tighter around his gray dishdasha. "We're relaxed. The Americans protect us. We feel safe."



After they collected the canisters, the Marines scrambled back into their Humvees. As they roared away, a boy in a red jacket waved and called out in stilted English: "Thanks for coming."


how come we never here more stuff like this on the evening news? we never see these images? I SOOO hate the media. ( for the most part anyway)