Rebels attempt break out Fallujah

Bugfatty300

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Insurgents tried to break through the U.S. cordon surrounding Fallujah on Thursday as American forces launched an offensive against concentrations of militants in the south of the city.

The U.S. DoD now reports nearly 230 American and Iraqi casaulties. So far 600 rebels and terrorist have been killedby airpower before the offensive.

No current estimates exist on how many have been killed by US and Iraqi ground forces in the first of the fighting. Although I'm quite sure it was a slaughter when it came to mutual combat.

Also two Marine Cobra gunships where hit and forced to crash land inside the hostile city. (Sound familure?) But this time the 4 pilots were quickly and succesfully rescued by US Forces.

The U.S. Marines are now hunting snipers who have retreated from the streets and into the surrounding buildings.

"Our air superiority is incredible," said Sgt. Michael Carmody, 26, of Thompson, Pa., with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines in northern Fallujah. "All we can do now is clear through the city and look for survivors. Air power is our best friend."

Airpower has played a critical role and probably has cut the causaulties of US and Iraqi forces in half.

The U.S. forces have also uncovered atrocities committed by the terrorist during their occupation of the city.

Those atrocities include a 'slaughter house' where dozens of victims were held captive and beheaded. Also discovered was a house inwhich 5 victims were found, all shot in the head.

At least one hostage has been freed by US forces when he was dicovered by Marines chained to wall. He claimed to be a taxi driver who had been held and beaten for 10 days.

US commanders believe a recent terrorist offensive in the Kurdish city of Mosul was intended to divert attention away from Fallujah.

A group of terrorist have ransacked the pro-American UKP HQ. Now The Kurds are pissedb who combimed forces with US soldiers and launched a counter-attack against the terrorist in Mosul.

A senior member of the pro-American Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, said nine police stations were attacked and that "Iraqi police turned some stations over to the terrorists. The internal security forces...are a failure and are ineffective because some of them are cooperating with the terrorists," Ahmed said.
 
I assume 230 means dead and wounded. Merely dead sounds a bit too high.

I feel bad for everybody in that city. American, Iraqi, misguided insurgent...everbody. What a hellhole.
 
Sobieski II said:
I assume 230 means dead and wounded. Merely dead sounds a bit too high.

Casaulty = Wounded, missing, captured, dead, sick.

I feel bad for everybody in that city. American, Iraqi, misguided insurgent...everbody. What a hellhole

Agreed.
 
Sobieski II said:
What a hellhole.
Soon it will be cleared out and people can start living there again. Whether I'd want to live there again, I don't know.
 
Your naivete surprises me yet again h4ppy.

Do you actually think that this is the last time the rebels will hole up in Falluja?
 
Truely amazing. I'm watching the fighting on tv right now.

Gun battles, helicopters shooting rockets, tanks firing its machine guns into buildings, Bradley APCs shooting its cannon at rebels, wounded being drug of the street under fire.

About the War...

Nearly 80 Brits killed and an unprecidented 1,323 American troops killed along with untold casaulties among civilians,:sad:

Its wierd to watch. This war is the grandest in scale and hardest fighting for western soldiers (especially Americans) since Vietnam. Its like watching military history being made on television.

BTW. I was watching CNN.
 
:lol: I didn't even notice it was the wrong thread, as I was going through both of them at pretty much the same time. ;)
 
@h4ppy...about your question from the other thread, but about this thread (man that is confusing)

Those are the figures for the whole war, although the American ones still seem overcast by about 50 or so. Unless there are more they haven't released yet.
 
Sobieski II said:
Your naivete surprises me yet again h4ppy.

Do you actually think that this is the last time the rebels will hole up in Falluja?
I'd think we would put a stronger garrison in, since taking the city back is so hard.
 
h4ppy said:
I'd think we would put a stronger garrison in, since taking the city back is so hard.
The presence of US soldiers in cities is not seen as "peacemaking". They are seen as killing many women and children (because they are), so a military presence isn't making Iraqi citizens like the US more. It is feeding the fires of the insurgency. The whole situation in Fallujah is unfortunate, but remember that the US decisions and actions set it in motion six months ago.
 
So you are expecting us to not keep troops in the city. You gotta be kidding.
 
h4ppy said:
I'd think we would put a stronger garrison in, since taking the city back is so hard.
I would be very surprised if we do this. Leaving our troops in such an area would be a great strain on our military. It's one thing to be there now....they're assaulting the city and can safely assume that everyone they see is an enemy. But once civilians start returning to the city, that won't apply anymore. There will be no way to sort out who is friend or foe until they've taken a shot at you, and in an urban environment that's a very bad situation for our troops. If our guys stay there, they will be subjected to an endless stream of sniper attacks and car bombs.

My bet is that we turn it over to the Iraqi forces almost immediately and get our troops back into our bases on the outskirts of the city. Besides, the way things are going in Mosul and Samarra, we may need them to assault some other city before long.
 
h4ppy said:
So you are expecting us to not keep troops in the city. You gotta be kidding.
I didn't say that. The US may keep troops there, and it may or may not be useful. Even if it did "work", and Fallujah wasn't taken back, then the troops would be tied up there while the insurgents moved elsewhere. It is very expensive for troops to set up (I think there was already a temporary base built in Fallujah), and very cheap for insurgents to move on to the next city. The US can win every battle, and set up patrols all over the place, but it doesn't solve the actual problem. It is too expensive, the Iraqi security forces are not being trained and do not have the loyalty needed to completely relieve US troops, the interim government is not trusted, international support is not coming to help (it is actually leaving), and the Iraqi people do not want American troops in their cities and are not going to help put down the insurgency.

So sure, the US needs to keep troops there to keep the name "Fallujah" out of the news to make the people back home happy when they watch the news at night. But it will not do any good, in Fallujah or elsewhere. For example, Baghdad has the largest concentration of US forces and it is not "under control", and rebuilding efforts have not begun at any realistic rate.
 
h4ppy said:
So you are expecting us to not keep troops in the city. You gotta be kidding.

Not, what we are saying is that as soon as the Americans stop levelling the city, and the people start coming back in, the insurgents will regroup. The American military cannot keep the city under constant siege. The conditions that created the insurgency in the first place will still exist.

It isn't as simple as just garrisoning the city. Only a nuke will end all resistance in the city forever, and that would defeat the purpose.

Even if America put half of its troops in Fallujah, all that would do is encourage the resistance to rise up somewhere else. Samarra, Mosul, Ramadi, you name it.

I think the point is that this war was a BAD IDEA.
 
Bizon77 said:
Truely amazing. I'm watching the fighting on tv right now.

Gun battles, helicopters shooting rockets, tanks firing its machine guns into buildings, Bradley APCs shooting its cannon at rebels, wounded being drug of the street under fire.

About the War...

Nearly 80 Brits killed and an unprecidented 1,323 American troops killed along with untold casaulties among civilians,:sad:

Its wierd to watch. This war is the grandest in scale and hardest fighting for western soldiers (especially Americans) since Vietnam. Its like watching military history being made on television.

BTW. I was watching CNN.

what is so unprecidented about 1,323 troops being killed?
 
h4ppy said:
So you are expecting us to not keep troops in the city. You gotta be kidding.
That was the original plan - for the US to withdraw and leave Iraqi government forces.

However, I suspect that will be impossible.
 
h4ppy said:
So you are expecting us to not keep troops in the city. You gotta be kidding.
Iraq doesn't belong to America or did you assume you were watching a massive LAN party of Halo 2?
The Iraqis will be given control of the city again.
 
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