After the big hullabaloo kill them all party at Fallujah, NOW What?
- Is the Iraq more secured, more safe, now everyone goes home for Christmas Turkey? Me afraid, the focus only shifted into another hot spot; insurgents is liken water, it is fluid and it transform and permeate to all walk of life. There is no single hard enemies to fight, no last Alamo to defense........ no shapes, no forms, no face, no organization..... nothing! Except, KAAAABOOOOOOMMM; another solider is wasted for nothing! Welcome to Iraqis War!
So We Win Fallujah. Then What?
The big question is what comes after.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Monday, Nov. 8, 2004, at 3:10 PM PT
So, the long-postponed offensive in Fallujah is finally under way, though it's unclear to what end. Hundreds, probably thousands, of insurgents will be killed. At best, the American soldiers and Marines will take control of the city. But then what? Fallujah isn't Masada or the Alamo, some last-ditch outpost where the rebels whoop their final battle cry, rally one more round of resistance, then pass into history when their last rifleman falls.
The problem is that the insurgents are active all over the Sunni Triangle. They dramatized this fact over the weekend. In Samarra, attacks on Iraqi police stations killed 33, including the local national guard commander, and injured 48. In Ramadi, a slew of suicide car bombings wounded 20 U.S. Marines. In Haditha and Haqlaniyah, guerrillas raided three police stations, killing 22 officers. In Diyala Province, the governor's aide and two members of the provincial governing council were killed. Bombs also exploded across Baghdad, at a Catholic church, and against U.S. convoys along the main road to the airport.
The highly coordinated attacks in Samarra are particularly disturbing, as U.S. and Iraqi forces supposedly pacified that city just last month. They might now accomplish the same feat in Fallujah; between 10,000 and 15,000 American soldiers and Marines are involved in the offensive, after all. But after the fighting is over, the siege can't be sustained for long. Residents, who have fled the city in anticipation of the battle, will want to return home; commercial traffic will once again flow; and it will be hard to block a new crop of insurgents from coming and going??especially if many of the soldiers and Marines move on to the next insurgent stronghold. As has widely been noted in many other contexts, the U.S. troops in Iraq are too stretched to run a tight occupation in one area while waging full-blown combat in another. (In the old days, "two-front war" meant fighting simultaneously in Europe and Asia. Now, apparently, it means Fallujah and Sadr City.)
And what of this campaign's immediate goal??to clear the area of insurgents so that Sunnis can vote safely in the elections this January? Unfortunately, the connection between an insurgent-free Fallujah and a trouble-free election is less than clear cut. First, many Sunni leaders, including Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer, have spoken out against the offensive; several have threatened to retaliate with a Sunni boycott of the election. The urge to boycott will be stiffened further if the Shiites appear certain to win anyway??and that's what seems to be shaping up, given a) the population's Shiite majority; b) Grand Ayatollah Sistani's plan to coordinate the various Shiite parties in order to avoid defeat by internal turmoil; and c) the added bonus of the proposal to open the ballot boxes to exiles, almost all of whom are Shiites.
As for accomplishing the war's broader, long-term goal??crushing the insurgents and securing a stable, free Iraq??the offensive in Fallujah is at best a shot in the dark. If success is swift and civilian casualties minimal, even the operation's critics might come around or at least drop their resistance. However, urban warfare is rarely a neat affair, especially when the indigenous fighters have had six months to fortify defenses, prepare booby traps, and plan back-alley ambushes. The U.S. troops expect to face 3,000 to 5,000 insurgents, who are unlikely to give up the fight easily. A little over half of Fallujah's 300,000 residents have reportedly fled the city, but this means that a bit fewer than half have stayed. They were all warned to leave town. The offensive is going to be a massive undertaking; the city is going to be pummeled by fire from the ground and the air; it will be hard to distinguish innocent civilians from insurgent fighters; and, given the warnings and the waiting and the declared urgency of the mission, there will be little incentive to try.
In this context, it is intriguing that the U.S. forces' first move, upon crossing into Fallujah Monday, was to seize the main hospital. In part, the step was practical. The site will be needed to care for the wounded. In part, it was a political. During the offensive last spring, U.S. commanders have said, the hospital issued inflated reports of civilian casualties for propaganda purposes. Capturing the site will not only prevent a repetition, it will also allow the United States to control the message about casualties. There are almost certain to be many deaths and injuries; how many of them will be reported is another matter. How wildly the rumors of casualties will flow anyway, in the regional media and elsewhere, may shape the reaction to the battle??within Iraq, the Arab world, the United Nations (which must play a vital role in Iraq if the elections and subsequent reconstruction efforts are to succeed), and the American public.
It is no coincidence that the offensive was launched shortly after our own presidential election. Given President George W. Bush's rosy campaign rhetoric about freedom on the march and Vice President Dick Cheney's assurances that things in Iraq were going "surprisingly well," a sudden escalation of the war??especially if heavy casualties, American ones, ensued??might have dimmed their prospects at the polls.
The background of this battle is worth recalling. Late last March, four U.S. contractors were brutally killed by guerrillas in Fallujah??beaten, dismembered, dragged through the streets, set on fire, and strung up on bridge cable. Many back home invoked the specter of Somalia. The wide consensus in the Pentagon and the White House was that something had to be done to punish the perpetrators and reverse the humiliation. In April, Marines prepared to storm Fallujah??but, at the last minute, were held back. Negotiations took place with tribal chiefs. Finally, the Marines were ordered to retreat, and instead a brigade of Iraqi officers, led by a former Baathist general, went in to restore order. At first glance, it seemed a plausible solution??a Sunni army unit to keep the peace in Sunni territory while U.S. officials carried on talks with political leaders. Soon, though, it all broke down. The Sunni soldiers either fled or joined the resistance. The tribal chiefs turned out to have less authority than they claimed. The insurgents took over the town, and foreign terrorists felt free to use it as a base.
We still don't know just who these insurgents are: how many of them are foreign terrorists, how many are simply locals angered by the occupation and seeking to avenge dead friends and relatives. The lack of knowledge about such matters??about who is in charge, who's committing the violence, and thus how to go about defeating or co-opting them??explains, in part, why the United States has failed at political attempts to control the violence.
In any case, if the Bush administration wanted to retake Fallujah after last spring's failure, they could have remounted the offensive as early as June. But, again, Bush's own electoral calculus ruled against such a risky move. So the second storming was put off until mid-November, even though this gave the insurgents a half-year to prepare and allowed little leeway for a peaceful prelude to Iraqi elections.
Bush probably intends the offensive to serve as a final showdown for the insurgents, but, regardless of the immediate outcome (and I write this with no pleasure whatever), it might be a final showdown for us instead. There are two factors at work here.
First, the offensive is billed as a joint operation by the U.S. military and the Iraqi national guard, but it hasn't worked out that way. National Public Radio's Anne Garrels, who is embedded with the Marines in Fallujah, reports that of the 500 Iraqi soldiers originally deployed to go in alongside U.S. forces only 170 were still on station when the operation began. The rest had deserted??whether simply to flee for their safety or to join the other side. And these Iraqis were members of the 36th Special Operations battalion, the elite of the country's new security forces. In short, quite apart from what happens in Fallujah, the Iraqis are not remotely ready to provide defense by themselves.
Second, coupled with this grim realization, the U.S. military is finding itself increasingly alone and isolated in this war. A small story in the Nov. 4 New York Times listed the various countries that are pulling out of this "coalition." Hungary had just announced, the day before, that it would withdraw its 300 troops from Iraq. This move would come on top of withdrawals, either actual or announced, by Spain (1,300 troops); Poland (2,400); the Netherlands (1,400); Thailand (450); the Dominican Republic (302); Nicaragua (115); Honduras (370); the Philippines (51); Norway (155); and New Zealand (60). Other countries will soon reduce their troop levels?? Singapore, from 191 to 32; Moldova, from 42 to 12; and Bulgaria, from 483 to 430. For the most part, these aren't large numbers??the United States has always contributed the vast bulk of the forces, with Britain, Australia, and Italy trailing far behind??but that's not the point. Their joining the coalition was presented as a show of international support; their departing will be widely perceived as an erosion of that support.
So what to do? Bush may well see the Fallujah offensive as a last gamble to turn things around. My guess is that, if it goes "well," by any stretch of a definition??and if the elections proceed with the slightest semblance of order??he might make preparations to declare victory and pull out. Such a move would almost certainly trigger chaos, but could this chaos be much more rampant than the state of life there now?
Fred Kaplan writes the "War Stories" column for Slate.
They lower than expected levels of resistance suggest the insurgents 'got the hell out of Dodge', before this even began. This is increasingly looking like the start of an 'exit strategy for the yanks'. Subtle acknowlegement that they will never win the war against these enemies.
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"Second, coupled with this grim realization, the U.S. military is finding itself increasingly alone and isolated in this war. A small story in the Nov. 4 New York Times listed the various countries that are pulling out of this "coalition." Hungary had just announced, the day before, that it would withdraw its 300 troops from Iraq. This move would come on top of withdrawals, either actual or announced, by Spain (1,300 troops); Poland (2,400); the Netherlands (1,400); Thailand (450); the Dominican Republic (302); Nicaragua (115); Honduras (370); the Philippines (51); Norway (155); and New Zealand (60). Other countries will soon reduce their troop levels?? Singapore, from 191 to 32; Moldova, from 42 to 12; and Bulgaria, from 483 to 430. For the most part, these aren't large numbers??the United States has always contributed the vast bulk of the forces, with Britain, Australia, and Italy trailing far behind??but that's not the point. Their joining the coalition was presented as a show of international support; their departing will be widely perceived as an erosion of that support."
- Haa! Haa! Coalition of the Willing; is looking like the lonesome American and her British Dog! Dear me! ROFLMAO
"They lower than expected levels of resistance suggest the insurgents 'got the hell out of Dodge', before this even began. This is increasingly looking like the start of an 'exit strategy for the yanks'. Subtle acknowlegement tha they will never win the war against these enemies."
- Two years ago, before this Iraqis War; I have preach and warned my American friends against this Iraqis War. This is the wrong war, wrong time, wrong reason...etc; and harmful to the American interests aboard.
- I hate it when me is proven rights; and I hate it further, when all my opponents war monger who supported this Iraqis War are now shut in silence! Me have no more opponents to face and to ridicules; what fun is life?
- Where is that 15 minutes Primed WMD, where is that noble Match Of Freedom and Liberty; me wonders? ROFLMAO
......... Let The Eagle Sore, Let it Sore Some More!
the US might be able to secure the oil facilities(excluding pipelines) but Iraq will become another palestine for a long period of time till a peace agreement is reached....Iraq's future is unclear.
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"the US might be able to secure the oil facilities(excluding pipelines) but Iraq will become another palestine for a long period of time till a peace agreement is reached....Iraq's future is unclear."
- USA being force out in humiliation from Iraq will sent shock wave across the globe; this will fully verified the coming decline of America and her World Wide Police Roles.
- In one way, this is very good thing; but, the rapid decline of American power and ensuring power vacuum, could trigger WWIII. We are now living in dangerous time! Specially if or should Nutcase OBL got hold of some whopper nukes or Small Pox/Chicken Pox/SARS virus; no one is now safe! All because of IQ Bush quest for Oil Dominions! What a shame!
- Haa! Haa! It is Phantom alright; Instead of Phantom Fury, it is Phantom Ghost!
Many insurgents
apparently fled
from Fallujah
Military¡¦s speculation undercuts bid to break back of insurgency
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:00 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2004
NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - The rapid U.S. push into Fallujah has come without the sort of fateful showdown that would break the back of the insurgency. In fact, advance U.S. and Iraqi government warnings gave the militants plenty of time to get out of town, and it appears many did just that.
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Military reports say small bands of guerrillas, with no more than 15 members each, fled the city in the weeks before the U.S.-led onslaught ¡X which was widely telegraphed by public statements and news reports.
¡§That¡¦s probably why we¡¦ve been able to move as fast as we have,¡¨ one officer in the Army¡¦s 1st Cavalry Division said Wednesday.
Insurgencies typically succeed by avoiding face-to-face battles with stronger military forces and by staging attacks where armies are weakest. The guerrillas who fled Fallujah may simply be repositioning themselves to fight elsewhere, said the officer, who agreed to discuss the Fallujah situation only if not quoted by name. Under embed rules, military officers have the option of refusing to be identified in news reports for security reasons.
How many left?
The development may mean the world¡¦s most powerful army is chasing a smaller band of insurgents than previously thought. Before the assault, the 1st Cavalry estimated 1,200 guerrillas were holed up in Fallujah, with as many as 2,000 more in nearby towns and villages. It was unclear how many were left inside or had been killed.
U.S. military leaders, including Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the Fallujah operation, and interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi gave plenty of warnings that the assault was imminent, in part to encourage civilians to leave. Authorities also didn¡¦t hide the movement of U.S. reinforcements from elsewhere in Iraq to take up positions around the city.
¡§We gave them so much fair warning that the only ones who stayed had a death wish,¡¨ the 1st Cavalry officer said.
There were unconfirmed reports that two top insurgent leaders, Sheik Abdullah al-Janabi and Omar Hadid, had been killed. But the officer said prominent insurgent leaders and fighters were thought to have fled the city, leaving behind defenders willing to fight to the death with a force of 15,000 American soldiers and Marines and Iraqi troops.
Whither al-Zarqawi?
There was no word on the whereabouts of Jordanian terrorism mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida-linked extremist believed behind a wave of car bombings and beheadings of foreigners across Iraq and thought to be using Fallujah as a base. Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, commander of the multinational force in Iraq, said Tuesday he believed al-Zarqawi had left the city.
SLIDE SHOW
¡E Violence in Iraq
Click "Launch" to see images from the fight for Fallujah, and other areas of unrest in Iraq.
U.S. commanders built up a big attacking force to prevent a repeat of April¡¦s failed siege of Fallujah by 2,000 Marines, when insurgents were able to leave the city to mount attacks on U.S. bases outside the city and also resupply themselves with manpower and weapons.
This time, planners brought in the 1st Cavalry¡¦s 2nd Brigade, which blocked bridges and choked off routes into and out of the city seeking to trap fighters inside, but only a few days before the offensive began Monday.
There is little conclusive evidence that guerrillas who fled Fallujah are behind a surge in attacks on U.S. forces and supply convoys elsewhere, the 1st Cavalry officer said. Islamist Web sites have been full of calls on militants across Iraq to attack U.S. facilities in retaliation for the assault on a city that had become the symbol of Iraqi resistance.
U.S. troops have advanced relentlessly from Fallujah¡¦s north side, fighting through two of the three rings of insurgent defenses. The fighters, mainly local Sunni Muslims with a few foreigners among them, were reported bottled up in Fallujah¡¦s sparse southern neighborhoods Wednesday.
Ohh masterful wise one America is doing fine Iraq cause you no nothing what go on there ohh wise one you just copy & paste almost every article you post.
Wise one America can hold out in Iraq alot longer then you think. I no you hot air guy just blow like a hair dryer but you funny hahahahaahahahahahha.
Remeber Amnerica isn't like you who bluffs we mean business. I have many friends serving in Iraq and no one says the poo poo you say. My pal is a ranger and this is third trip to the war zone once in afgan and twice in Iraq and he still alive and putting down insurgents. He's been shot twice and makes it back to the field. Remember Vietnam long time ago you can't live with that memory old war new day now. So I enjoy read your comedy relief please keep it coming wise one.
SEE YOU IN TEMPLE..........................
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We already have 1300 KIA and many more injurred-lost limbs, eyesight, things which will impact their ability to lead normal, productive lives. And for what? WMD that never existed and that Bush was TOLD did not exist?!
We should declare victory and bring the troops home. Now. Before even one more loses his life in this tragic mistake. We should be fighting the war on Terrorists, not fighting with the Iraqi's. Let the necons fight them themselves if they want to.
E Tan, E Epi Tas!
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"Ohh masterful wise one America is doing fine Iraq cause you no nothing what go on there ohh wise one you just copy & paste almost every article you post.
Wise one America can hold out in Iraq alot longer then you think. I no you hot air guy just blow like a hair dryer but you funny hahahahaahahahahahha.
Remeber Amnerica isn't like you who bluffs we mean business. I have many friends serving in Iraq and no one says the poo poo you say. My pal is a ranger and this is third trip to the war zone once in afgan and twice in Iraq and he still alive and putting down insurgents. He's been shot twice and makes it back to the field. Remember Vietnam long time ago you can't live with that memory old war new day now. So I enjoy read your comedy relief please keep it coming wise one. "
- You are most funny, America is not doing fine inside Iraq; remember, your American army is designed to fight two major opponents at the same time. In this Iraqis war contest; you can not even fight two major cities let alone of fighting two major opponents liken Russia and China at the same time! If your definition of American success; KAAAABOOOOOMMM, another truck convey just been blow up! If you define your Iraqis War as your definition of success; I would feel pity for your definition of failure!
- Currently, there are already 10,000 American soldier have been injured inside Iraq; please tell, how many more GI Joe can you effort to sent over at the Iraqis front? Tell me, many of these GI Joe are part time reserves who family are fallen on hard time; because their love one is serving in Iraq and lost their regular job pay cheque. Unless you American are prepared to restart the Drafts; there is no way in hell you can control the Iraqis population. Get a reality check, and stop this non-sense about Imperial War!
"We already have 1300 KIA and many more injurred-lost limbs, eyesight, things which will impact their ability to lead normal, productive lives. And for what? WMD that never existed and that Bush was TOLD did not exist?!
We should declare victory and bring the troops home. Now. Before even one more loses his life in this tragic mistake. We should be fighting the war on Terrorists, not fighting with the Iraqi's. Let the necons fight them themselves if they want to."
- Bravo to you, Comrade Landos; me think, nutcase OBL is far more dangerous to world peace then 2 bit Iraqis. American focus should be primary to hunt and to kill this baastard OBL, instead of being diverted into Iraqis War. IMHO
Many of the insurgents we sought in Fallujah (now that the election is over) seem to be popping up, and off, in Mosul, Samarra, and Ramadi, far from the eyes of embedded reporters. Meanwhile, 227 wounded Americans have been carted off to Landstuhl in less than four days.
By Greg Mitchell
NEW YORK (November 11, 2004) -- Maybe after the events of this week the press will finally declare, We Won't Be Fallujahed Again.
Dozens of embedded reporters re-enlisted, and hundreds of newspapers breathlessly recounted the invasion of the insurgent stronghold (which turned out to be not so strong and held relatively few insurgents), as if it was the turning point in the war. They missed most of the story, however, as several other rebel centers exploded in death and fury.
On Thursday, while U.S. commanders boasted of seizing 70% of mostly empty Fallujah, the much larger city of Mosul to the north experienced what Reuters called an "armed rampage," and a car bomb killed 17 on a Baghdad street. "The Fallujah assault has provoked an upsurge in violence elsewhere in Iraq," Reuters put it, dryly.
This is how Reuters described the action in Mosul, where one of its photographers was shot in the thigh: "Insurgents set police stations ablaze, stole weapons and brazenly roamed the streets. ... Residents said Iraq's third largest city seemed to slide out of control.?? Well, you win some, you lose some.
Oh, and did you see this minor complication, on page A14 of The New York Times on Wednesday: The Sunni leadership, in response to the Fallujah offensive, is calling for a boycott of the elections the offensive is suppose to facilitate. Sunnis represent at least 20% of the populace.
Meanwhile, in Fallujah, the rebels, having been warned for weeks of the coming attack, and knowing it would be tied to the results of the U.S. election, have melted away (to Mosul?). Of course, if the U.S. attack had not been postponed until after the White House was re-secured, perhaps that mass flight could have been prevented (not that any newspapers I've seen are pressing this point).
Even with less conflict in Fallujah, the American death toll is bad enough: a reported 18 dead and 69 wounded so far, according to the military on Thursday. One wonders if it is much worse, however. A little-noted Reuters report on Thursday cited a spokeswoman at the military's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where most of the seriously wounded U.S. troops in Iraq are taken, saying that 102 Americans had arrived from Iraq in two plane loads just today, joining 125 who had arrived Monday to Wednesday. Even with my fuzzy math, that's 227 in less than four days, not counting the dead.
As for the Iraqis in Fallujah: Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said Thursday there have been "hardly any, if any, civilian casualties so far." I will leave it to you, and tomorrow's papers, to judge how likely this seems.
Jackie Spinner, the Washington Post embed with the Marines in Fallujah, said in an online chat (the head spins) today: "No one I've talked to believes that solving the Fallujah problem will end the violence in Iraq. But, as one Marine office told me, not solving the Fallujah problem will not end it either."
Well, a reporter is only good as her sources.
Spinner also relayed without comment the official military explanation for why it seized a Fallujah hospital, and tied up all the doctors, on the first day of the invasion: they had to make sure the docs were not "insurgents" and also, "One of the persistent problems for the military ... was the misreporting of civilian dead and wounded by the propaganda machines at the hospitals."
This comes just weeks after the Allawi government itself released figures showing thousands of civilian casualties in the country, with estimates from others reaching into the tens of thousands.
Given Gen. Myers claims today of no civilian casualties in this week's assault, it is odd that the Marines also told Spinner that they had secured the "propaganda" hospital first "to make sure that civilians had access to medical care during the offensive."
- Just as me think; hold the hospital to stop the World knowing the civilian deaths. What say you, Mr. Cyclops! No more argument, no more fact, no more spin! ROFLMAO
- Jesus Holly Christ, this Iraqis War is getting Dumb and Dumber by the minutes. This is very sad!
Some Iraqi security forces shooting at GIs
Many of those trained to take over for Americans target them instead
By ANNE BARNARD
Boston Globe
FALLUJAH, Iraq ?? On the second day of the ground battle for this insurgent stronghold, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle commanded by Lt. Eric Gregory whisked its crew of infantrymen to a house where they were to set up an observation post.
It seemed that a young man had recently been living there. The family??s possessions and a woman??s clothes were strewn across the floor, but a T-shirt and jeans were freshly hung to dry in the window.
The team kept watch over the empty streets as airstrikes nearby sent clouds of smoke skyward. Marines in Humvees went door to door checking nearby houses.
It got so calm that some soldiers lay down on the family couches to sleep for the first time in 30 hours.
Suddenly a barrage of machine-gun fire erupted. Bullets clanked against the metal-paneled walls of the house.
??It??s the IIF!?? a soldier shouted, using the call sign for the Iraqi Intervention Forces, who were supposed to fight alongside the Americans. ??They??re shooting at us.??
The night before, the soldiers had waited hours for the Iraqi Intervention Forces to join them and take the lead in searching a school and a mosque, tasks assigned to Iraqi troops for political reasons. The Iraqi buses could not navigate the insurgents?? concrete barriers, which the American tanks had easily avoided or run over. So the Iraqis had crossed into the city on foot.
These Iraqi soldiers were fleeing small arms fire from insurgents that was strafing both sides of the road as they approached.
Sgt. Richard Harkleroad waved his unit??s flag to signal the Iraqis not to shoot, to no avail.
Finally, the Iraqis drove on, but not before many of the American soldiers took cover.
Sgt. Sam Kilpatrick, a combat cameraman, swore the Iraqis were looking right at him and the Bradley parked in front of the observation post when they opened fire.
??That ... was deliberate,?? he said.
It was one more example of long-standing tensions between American forces and Iraqis whom they are training to take over their security role. U.S. forces often complain the Iraqis are incompetent or allied with insurgents.
In Fallujah, winning the peace for the U.S. and Iraqi governments will depend on whether Iraqi forces can quickly take and keep control.
??You train them, you give them weapons. Maybe their heart was never really in it. Maybe they had ulterior motives,?? Kilpatrick said.
The Bradley commanded by Gregory had labored through the first night of the assault, lurching through dark city streets as the radio crackled warnings of small arms fire or rocket-propelled grenades.
Wedged in the back, their cramped bodies aching, the five infantrymen could hear their gunner??s bursts of cannonfire and the crack of roadside bombs going off a block away as the armored platoon went after pockets of insurgents.
The men slept through the long silences while they awaited each new task. Finally, they rolled north out of Fallujah at dawn for a brief break, 12 hours after they had punched into the city, and were relieved to learn there had been no one killed or seriously injured in their platoon.
But they also heard about the other side??s casualties they had been unable to see from inside the vehicle that first night.
The platoon of Bradleys and tanks had killed about a dozen Iraqis, said Gregory.
Harkleroad didn??t want to get too confident, even though the insurgents hadn??t mounted the massive resistance they expected.
The soldiers grabbed Gatorade and muffins and rolled back into Fallujah, penetrating much farther this time, to a hospital near the town center that the United States believes was an insurgent planning center.
As they approached, they heard troops over the radio saying they had taken RPG fire from the hospital.
Then they heard it, half a dozen loud claps in a row.
??Request permission to return fire to the hospital,?? a voice said over the radio.
The hatch opened and the team dashed to a house.
They popped a smoke grenade to cover their tracks as they climbed a flight of outdoor steps to the roof of the house, just across a square from the hospital.
Tank crews fired heavy machine guns at the Al-Janabi Hospital, and 120-mm tank rounds slammed into an adjacent house, the blasts shaking the windows of the house under the soldiers?? feet.
But as soon as it began, another unit took their place and the platoon??s part in the battle was over. They moved on to another house, where they encountered the Iraqi forces?? gunfire.
As the sun set behind the smoke from the American bombardment, the team was keeping an eye on an insurgent sniper down an alley from the house. Shots were being fired at a Marine vehicle trying to clear cement barriers from the road, and the platoon??s tanks headed out to a new fight.
E Tan, E Epi Tas! on loan! 
