Cease-fire in Fallujah frustrates some Marines

[Barrett808]

Cease-fire in Fallujah frustrates some Marines
Mon Apr 19, 6:47 AM ET By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

U.S. military commanders, frustrated by a weeklong truce and talks aimed at ending hostilities in Fallujah, say the pause in offensive operations is giving insurgents a chance to reorganize and rearm, military officers say.

"There is a sense of frustration across the board," said a high-ranking military officer who asked not to be identified. If fighting starts again, Marines say they fear they will face a stronger enemy. "You fight them now or you fight them later," the officer said.

The officer also said the discussions are elevating the status of the insurgents by implying they are equals with U.S. forces. "It's emboldened the enemy across the 'Sunni Triangle,' " he said. On Saturday, five Marines and at least 25 Iraqis were killed in a firefight near the Syrian border in Anbar province, which includes Fallujah, a city of 200,000.

Elements of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force launched the offensive April 5 against insurgents in Fallujah, a pro-Saddam Hussein stronghold 35 miles west of Baghdad. The objective was to kill or capture Iraqi fighters suspected of killing and mutilating the bodies of four American security contractors. Since then, more than 30 Marines and at least 600 Iraqis have been killed in the city and province.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=usatoday/ceasefireinfallujahfrustratessomemarines

[JohnyCanuck]

1. They're missing their adrenaline rush.

The young American Marine is exultant. "It's a sniper's dream,' he tells a Los Angeles Times reporter on the outskirts of Fallujah. "You can go anywhere and there so many ways to fire at the enemy without him knowing where you are."

"Sometimes a guy will go down, and I'll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies. Then I'll use a second shot."

"To take a bad guy out," he explains, "is an incomparable "adrenaline rush." He brags of having "24 confirmed kills" in the initial phase of the brutal U.S. onslaught against the rebel city of 300,000 people.

Faced with intransigent popular resistance that recalls the heroic Vietcong defense of Hue in 1968, the Marines have again unleashed indiscriminate terror. According to independent journalists and local medical workers, they have slaughtered at least two hundred women and children in the first two weeks of fighting.

http://www.nationinstitute.org/tomdispatch/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=1386

[madrchsod]

2. remember-

this guy is coming back to the usa..doesn`t that make you all warm and fuzzy knowing he`s your next door neighbor?

[wtmusic]

3. sickening

So Proud to Be An American.

[Wright Patman]

4. 'Bad guys'

are those who kill others in cold-blooded premeditation. If the shoe fits ...

Lots of 'bad guys' in this world, wearing the military uniforms of various and sundry countries as well as growing legions of private armies for hire to the highest bidder.

[0007]

6. ...and we wonder why the world hates us

24 kills, 'eh? Loves to hear his enemies scream in pain, 'eh?

[will work 4 food]

15. To take a bad guy out

Amazing what the video game generation is capable of without remorse.

[Teaser]

5. That's their job.

If we didn't want them to want to fight it out, we shouldn't have sent them into Fallujah.

[mhr]

7. We Is Rather Pejorative - The Proper Phrase Is "If George W. Bush ...."

eom

[saigon68]

8. Being a War Criminal is NOT their job

Relishing and sunning in the aftermath are reasons why this guy belongs out of the service. He's obviously psychologically messed up.

Imagine how this looks in Europe.

[TahitiNut]

9. Attack dogs straining at the leash.

Dehumanization indoctrination is certainly effective. :eyes: (Don't trust your children to them.)

[bobthedrummer]

10. It's a shame that USMC and all other US military have been abused

by the policies of Donald Rumsfeld, to the point of desiring to avenge the death and corpse mutilation of mercenaries, paid for with part of our US taxes and spent by the administration of George W. Bush aka The War President.

Of course, mercenaries like Dyn Corp. (hired to "train Iraqi police") pay a lot of tribute money, in the form of political campaign contributions, then they make a killing on war crimes and help Osama Bin Laden in the long run-but, for these mercenaries-if the price is right it's ok.:puke::argh:

Campaign Contributions of Post-War Contractors (MERCENARIES)
http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/resources.aspx?act=contrib

And look who gets our tax money-MERCENARIES
Post-War Contractors Ranked by Total Contract Value in Iraq and Afghanistan
http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/resources.aspx?act=total

My father was USMC 604th Platoon, I am his sole surviving son, he fought against militarism in the form taken in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and his brother, my uncle, fought against fascism in the form of the Third Reich in Europe-with The War President you get both militarism and fascism imo as a 7th generation American and sole surviving son of a dead Marine. With the masters of war present in the administration of George W. Bush, we all get betrayed.
:nuke:

[PATRICK]

11. Jives with live reports

From troops all fired up and confident to go in. The people on top are screwing things up so badly the troops in the field are continually left high and dry- if they haven't noticed that before.

Demoralizing. dangerous to our troops. The resistance will get stronger in many ways regardless, but this is definitely Bush capitulation, buying time. For the other side it was a test, not altogether unsuccessful, in fact very successful in laying certain foundations. Escalation or bugging out is almost inevitable. This is thanks to a cartoon reenactment of Vietnam style leadership and planning- no matter what country or time these bozos of ours are dealing with. if it works its deadly mindnumbing way down the ranks our army will be seriously ruined, as wasted as it is now in this PNAC adventure.

They are in an impossible political situation, even if they had not bothered to read any minor history on such wars.

[saigon68]

19. They are arrogant, self admiring their power.

The resistance will have the last word

[keithyboy]

12. Bood thirsy killers ...they will be that way when they return home also.

No wars should be fought with young men...only men over 50, and then only the wealtlhy men over 50.

[ender]

17. you dont send the marines in to play nice...

i mean really... come on people - you send the marines in to kill - exactly as they've been trained to do.

thats what marines do - they kill things.

[screembloodymurder]

20. I agree

They are there to do a job, and like it or not, we sent them. These young men are prepared to die for us, so don't blame the Marines. Blame the duck hunters on the Supreme Court. They hide behind blinds sipping Bourbon while our teenage sons and daughters take bullets in Iraq, but make no mistake about it, they're the real "killers".

[saigon68]

23. Only very sick people join an organization to kill

people who think like this join Hamas.

[saigon68]

22. Ya well I don't buy that

They are meals on wheels guys now--

when they commit War Crimes ( like shooting Civilians) they will go to Federal Naval Prisons where they belong.

[Athame]

24. they kill things

Mostly, they kill PEOPLE.

[DS1]

21. blah blah blah, we're all blood thirsty killers

This kind of crap is getting tedious.

[bemildred]

13. I certainly hope this officer is not questioning the

tactical and strategic judgement of his superiors. That
would be insubordination.

The tactical facts on the ground are that the Marines have
failed to achieve their objectives, doing a good deal of random
damage in the process, and that is why there are now "negotiations"
going on in an attempt to defuse the situation and also to achieve
by talk what the Marines failed to achieve by force, e.g. the
disarmament and "pacification" of the resistance. Unfortunately
there is no reason to think that talk and "negotations" will have
much effect either.

[riverwalker]

14. potential Tim McVeighs coming home

A December 1991 Army evaluation rated him "among the best" in leadership potential and an "inspiration to young soldiers." He loved killing Iraqis, took pictures of the dead ones, got himself a Bronze Star.

[Endangered Specie]

16. Ship them some Xboxes.

[teryang]

18. Defusing the crisis is the best course

Further military operations in Fallujah will only encourage widespread outbreaks of violence. The attacks were politically counterproductive, they were alienating Sistani even further. What do you do when you've lost the support of the majority? Continue fighting? For what?