Michael J. Totten’s Latest: “After The Battle Of Al-Fajr”
In case you don’t know who Michael Totten is, he is an independent journalist covering the war along the same lines as Pat, Bill Roggio, Michael Yon, Mike Fumento et al…
After the Battle of Al-Fajr
By Michael J. Totten
FALLUJAH, IRAQ – Fallujah is known as the City of Mosques. It is also a city of walls, and of war.
It was a quieter city than most after the initial invasion in 2003. There was less looting than in Baghdad, and the mayor was pro-American. It was tranquil for the most part. But resentment first simmered, then exploded in an orgy of mob violence on March 31, 2004, when four security contractors from the Blackwater corporation were murdered, mutilated, and strung up from a bridge.
The following month U.S. Army soldiers and Marines were sent in to clear the city, then were pulled back for political reasons before the mission was finished. The insurgents won the first round and gained total control of the city. Taliban-style rule had come to Iraq. In November of the same year the Americans went back in and fought the massive epic battle known as Al-Fajr, or Dawn.
I met two Marines who have returned to Fallujah after the fighting in that battle. They belong to the 3rd Battalion 5th Regiment’s India Company and are based now at a train station on the northern edge of the city that has been turned into a Forward Operating Base that keeps its part of the city secure.
Read the whole story here.
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Just read it. He doesnt write as well as Michael Yon, but he definitely conveys a lot of important information. Worth a read =)
December 10th, 2007 at 9:50 pmFrom the article:
“it’s good to see the city the way it is and to go to the same neighborhoods. They’re so much cleaner now. These people are doing things on their own, they’re taking care of their own stuff. When I was here three years ago, I never would have imagined this place would ever be like it is now. It reminded me of Tijuana.”
Wow. Doesn’t say much for Mexico….
December 11th, 2007 at 1:09 am