WAR: Coalition to Pull Out of Fallujah

After occupying the contested city for weeks, the US Marines have been ordered to pull out of Fallujah. The move comes after three days of heavy shelling following a failed cease-fire with Iraqi insurgents who killed and mutilated four civilian contractors.

CTV.ca

Early sources report that control of the city will be turned over to the Iraqi Army, and that Army Generals are negotiating with insurgent forces in the city. An embedded reporter from the Los Angeles Times says the move is a result of a peacekeeping deal and that details are still being finalized.

The pullout is slated to begin on Friday to allow the Fallujah Protective Army to move in and maintain order.

Coalition troops are in the process of loading equipment and packing gear in preparation for relocating to the nearby city of Garma.

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[Edited on 29-4-2004 by Banshee]

If this is all true and we are pulling out of fallujah after what will now amount to a "hit -n-run" on insurgents there, we are in the end rewarding terrorism....IMO

I am sure it was a tough call. I guess only time will show if it was a good or bad move, I say if we are so willing to pull out of Fallujah now, why not just pull out of Iraq all together? In fact, lets just get the hell out of the whole region. ..... What this will show in time is that Terrorism is an effective weapon against the USA.

"Army Generals negotiating with insurgent forces in the city"..... Well I guess terrorism can win a battle here and there, if you think these negotiations will end the terrorist attacks in Iraq... you are wrong, imo... it will only make things worse.

Gazz

Fallujah, Iraq - A U.S. Marine commander says a deal has been reached for all Marines to pull back from Fallujah. That would end the siege of the volatile Iraqi city.



Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne says an all-Iraqi security force is going to move into the city starting tomorrow. It will be called the Fallujah Protective Army and will be made up of as many as eleven hundred Iraqi soldiers.

Byrne says the new army will be led by a former general from the military of Saddam Hussein.
An agreement was reached earlier between U.S. officials and Iraqis in an effort to restore stability to the city, which has been the scene of intense Marine battles with insurgents.

Marines lifting siege of Fallujah

US marines announced the end of the bloody, near four-week siege of Fallujah today and will hand the city over to an all-Iraqi force, commanded by one of Saddam Hussein�s generals .

The deal came after intense international pressure on the United States to find a peaceful resolution to the stand-off.

Only last week, American commanders had been threatening to launch an all-out attack on the city to root out Sunni insurgents.

Under a deal reached last night, a new Iraqi force known as the Fallujah Protection Army is to start moving into the Sunni city to impose security on Friday, marine Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne said.

US marines hand Fallujah over to Saddam general

US marines will start to withdraw from Fallujah's southern industrial zone on Friday after spending the past three weeks there in an offensive on the Iraqi city.

Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne says marines from the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, will evacuate the zone and hand security responsibility to an Iraqi security force.



They will return to their base outside the city but Lt Col Byrne did not say if they would complete the move on Friday.

Lt Col Byrne says Marines will then pull out from the northern perimeter of the city, which has been rocked by the worst fighting, although it is not clear how many days the withdrawal will take.

The marines will be handing control over to the Fallujah Protection Army, a previously unheard of security organisation.

US forces to leave Fallujah

But Gazz... this wasn't about terrorism winning or losing. This was just about armed resistance to the US occupation. It's only Bush and Blair that are still saying that they're fighting Baathists and foreigners. Most commentators agree that a substantial number of the "militants" are local Iraqi fighters who want the US out. Particularly after the huge civilian casualties in the last weeks, and in the weeks after the occupation began (which was when all this bad feeling started in the first place).

In my opinion I think it's sensible for the US to try to let the Iraqi's take control of the area, particularly if they're serious about a 30th June handover. Ultimately though I suspect there's a considerable worry that further fighting in Fallujah will result in increased US military casualties. Support in the US is starting to wane and GWB can't afford to have a further increase in US deaths next month. Starts to look like the beginning of the casualty curve in Vietnam...

And you'll never pull out of the region (as a country) because you guys (the country's civilians) insist on driving stupidly inefficient SUV's etc. which require massive amounts of oil to keep on the road. While the US remains the largest polluter and largest user of oil, the relationship with the Middle East will continue.

Am I missing something? Why are they moving out and going to there base

Are the going to try to get the insurgens out into the open, Drop a big bomb or something?

US marines have agreed a withdrawal from positions in the flashpoint Iraqi city of Falluja, according to an American military commander.



Lt Col Brennan Byrne said this would allow a newly created all-Iraqi force to take control of the city on Friday.

But senior US defence officials in Washington say they are not aware that any deal has been reached.

Elsewhere in Iraq, 10 US soldiers have been killed in attacks - eight in a car bombing south of the capital Baghdad.

Falluja, a predominantly Sunni Muslim city, 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, has been a hotbed of resistance to the US-led occupation of Iraq.

The marines have been encircling the city and fighting insurgents based there for the past three weeks.

US force 'to pull out of Falluja'

Originally posted by Ocelot

Lt Col Brennan Byrne said this would allow a newly created all-Iraqi force to take control of the city on Friday.

They cant be for real, this rag-tag group really beable to take control of this city?

They didnt even want to fight. All seems very odd.

[Edited on 29-4-2004 by SpittinCobra]

wait, we're pulling out and turning this over to the Iraqi army, is this the same Iraqi army that refused to fight earlier this month ?

I'm sort of glad that we're getting our guys out of there, but on the other hand it'll be considered a win by the oposition.

I wonder if we're pulling out getting ready to drop a "big one" ?

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 29 � In a reported deal intended to end the standoff between insurgents in Falluja and American troops, a new Iraqi security force comprising former Iraqi soldiers and commanders will replace the Americans forces encircling the city and assume responsibility for pacifying the resistance.



Some Marine units were already beginning to pack up in preparation for a withdrawal, and a Marine commander, Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, said the Iraqi force would start entering Falluja on Friday, news services reported.

The new force, known as the Falluja Protective Army, will be made up of up to 1,100 Iraqi soldiers led by a former general from the military of Saddam Hussein but will be a subordinate command under the American military, Colonel Byrne said, according to news services.

But an unnamed senior American official told CNN today that no such deal had been finalized.

Deal to End Falluja Standoff Is Reported; 10 Americans Killed

The BBC is saying Senior defense officials in Washington have said they not aware of any deal being reached.

BBC

There is something a bit strange about this.

It's a bit rich to say the coalition are withdrawing from Falluja btw, isn't it just the Americans in there?

What this means, boys and girls, is that the Americans are losing.


They believe they're left with only one option to subdue the people...bringing back the former guard. Those guys were REALLY good at oppression, especially of the Shia majority.

On a side note...it also gets pictures of pretty blonde dead boys off the American nightly news...oh wait, they dont show those pics...hmmm...maybe its because the pentagon has decided to not count, Iraqi military or civilian deaths. AH HA! This move will surely help the numbers game.

....ohh beautiful for spacious skys, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah........


"The single act of obediance is the cornerstone of authority" - R.A.W

[Edited on 29-4-2004 by Voice_of Doom]

Originally posted by Voice_of Doom
What this means, boys and girls, is that the Americans are losing.

I dont think this is true. I think that they would rather let the Iraqs to take the deaths.