Ineffective Iraqi Force in Fallouja Disbanded (Brigade was a fiasco)

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fallouja11sep11.story
THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ
Ineffective Iraqi Force in Fallouja Disbanded
The move is a setback to Marines, who hoped the brigade would quell the insurgency in the city.
By Alissa J. Rubin
Times Staff Writer

September 11, 2004

RAMADI, Iraq — The Iraqi military force formed by the Marines in a last-ditch effort to pacify the restive city of Fallouja has been disbanded in the face of continuing violence, assaults on government security forces and evidence that some members have been working openly with insurgents.

The dissolution of the Fallouja Brigade, created during the spring to avoid an all-out assault on the insurgent hotbed, marked a significant setback for the U.S. military. The Americans had hoped that the brigade, composed of former members of the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein's special security forces, would work alongside the new Iraqi government and help restore order.

"The Fallouja Brigade is done, over," said Marine Col. Jerry L. Durrant, who oversees the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit's involvement with Iraqi security forces. "The whole Fallouja Brigade thing was a fiasco. Initially it worked out OK, but it wasn't a good idea for very long."

Durrant did not say what the Marines might do next, but U.S. warplanes Friday bombed Fallouja for the fourth consecutive day and the air campaign was expected to continue and possibly intensify. Friday's air attack targeted earth-moving equipment being used by insurgents to build fighting positions, a Marine spokesman said.<snip>

[Cocoa]

1. was it a failure

or was it a catastrophic success.

[Jacobin]

3. I like to call it a "successful catastrophe"

[Jacobin]

2. Now, there's a suprise

Imagine Iraqi troops not being loyal to the American invading force and refusing to fire on their own countrymen. What kind of people are these, anyway?

[Moderator]

4. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=818122