Did the Insurgents all leave Falluja before the attack?

[MaryH]

I am reading that there is just sporadic fighting. Doesn't sound the huge battle of all battles that we predicted.

Sounds like the action has moved back to Baghdad.

But why should anything we predicted be true - nothing else has been.

[knight_of_the_star]

1. They're not stupid

They're probably waiting for the right moment to strike and REALLY do some serious damage.

[papau]

10000 before, 6000 at start, 3000 yesterday, 1000 today still in city

seems most have left -

but the Pentagon estimates that 1000 will fight on then try to meld into the 100,000 or so folks still in the city that did hold 300,000 a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile the city we freed a few weeks ago is back to having rebel activity.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. AAR is reporting 14 US troops dead most of them

in Fallujah,

Idoubt tehy left...

[cheezus]

3. that'd be pretty damn clever of them

all of a sudden there's twice the insurgents in baghdad and all the coalition forces are in fallujha.

[bowens43]

4. of course they left.

They are regrouping elsewhere. These people are not stupid. They know that the only way to win is to wage a guerrilla war. They can not and will not face down the US military.

[JohnyCanuck]

5. Fighting insurgents is like this.

http://www.miniclip.com/wack.htm

[Goldmund]

7. LOL

That's a cool little game.

[deutsey]

6. I guess it depends on where you're getting your news

Democracy Now reports "fierce fighting" in Fallujah.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526237

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

8. You get the cigar

They have smart leaders. I'm jealous.

[bemildred]

9. Would you stay? nt

[lectrobyte]

10. What is an insurgent, anyway?

I'd think after a few days of shelling and night visits from AC-130s, there'd be plenty of new insurgents. What would you do if it was your city?

[H2O Man]

11. That's a good question

I'm starting a short paper that will describe some of the tactics that the American forces will encounter in the next 6 months, based upon the book "Imperial Hubris," by the "anonymous" CIA analyst Michael Schever. But, yes, you are correct .... in this type of conflict, our opponent is not going to allow large numbers of people to be caught in any one place.

The Bush administration is not only guilty of causing untold suffering to he Iraqis; they are placing our troops into a "no win" situation. By trying to make things better, they are actually becoming far worse.

[MaryH]

12. Would you stay there?

After six months of planning for this attack I figure there are probably tunnels going out of town under every house.

[H2O Man]

13. Yes, that is right.

Another thing to consider is that those same people who are "the enemy" when the sun goes down, are our "friends" during the daylight hours. So when the civilians were allowed to leave the city, it simply was an easy out for the people that our government misleadingly calls "insurgents." There are estimates that as much as 5 to 10% of the Iraqi forces that pose as our friends are members of the opposition.

This administration has placed our troops in a terrible situation. I am not against ever using military force, and I have great respect for our military. But we have been led into a tar pit by nitwits such as Rumsfeld. The best hope for both the USA and the Iraqis would have been a Kerry presidency that put General Wesley Clark in charge of ending the US involvement in Iraq. Not a "cut and run" as the republicans accused Kerry of planning, but a strategic reduction of violence that allowed Iraq to have self-government.

[DrWeird]

14. The "insurgents" are people defending their homes.

They haven't anywhere else to go. Plus men over 15 years or so aren't being allowed to leave or, apparently, surrender.

[sandnsea]

15. They've had a month

Why would they stick around? People are too funny. If you're defending your home, you're not going to allow yourself to be a sitting duck by staying in your house. It's not the battle plan. Doesn't anybody remember the Revolutionary War.

[DrWeird]

19. They have no where to go.

And if they did, US forces haven't allowed them to leave.

[sandnsea]

21. Happyland

More than Republicans want to live there I guess. There's an entire country for them to go to. Where do you think all the residents of Fallujah went? You really think it's easy to tell the difference between an insurgent and husbands and fathers? I saw them on the teevee with their children, speaking from Baghdad, didn't you?

[DrWeird]

22. The city's been sealed off.

Only women, girls, and boys under 14 have been allowed to leave. Or haven't you been paying attention?

[sandnsea]

24. Okeedoke

I didn't see the father of Fallujah children in Baghdad on the teevee. Just my imagination. Rummy has it under control. All is good in Happyland.

[DrWeird]

25. Alright.

Than I suppose it was just accidental misfire that's killed 17 troops in Fallujah.

:eyes:

[htuttle]

16. They all went to Ramadi and chased the US troops out of town

Read that this morning in LBN. US troops had to retreat back to outlying bases when Iraqis took back the center of Ramadi from them.

Lots of fighting today in Baghdad, too.

[gratuitous]

17. Did they all leave? Probably not

Did a substantial portion of them leave? Almost certainly. It's simply madness to throw your forces at a large, professional, well-equipped enemy. Reading the reports on MSNBC, there are two outstandingly stupid quotes from our faultless, freckle-faced, star-spangled boys in uniform:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6442623/

One is from some 23-year-old who thinks his outfit has actually accomplished something: “It feels good to be here. I feel like we’ve really done something,” said Cpl. Keith Sharp, of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. “The nicest thing is sitting and thinking about going back home,” said the 23-year old from Gerber, Calif., as he ate rations. “And I’ve only been shot at once.”

Uhm, Mr. Sharp? You've only been shot at once to lure you a little farther into the city. And if you think you're going home anytime soon, you're very much mistaken.

And this from a 30-year-old guy from Houston: Marines offered themselves qualified kudos Tuesday for taking one of the first targets in the Fallujah assault — a battle that officers say could take days. “I’d rather be fighting the terrorists here than in the U.S.,” said Sgt. Jack Pierce, a 30-year-old from Houston, sitting in a collapsible chair and drinking coffee.

Uhm, Mr. Pierce? You'd have to think that the ordinary Iraqi citizens of Fallujah have designs to conquer Houston, if that's what you truly believe. Otherwise, I really have to question the wisdom of our military making someone that incredibly stupid an NCO.

[theHandpuppet]

18. It's not like we didn't give them plenty of notice

The media have been breathlessly hyping this thing like it's their new fall season of "Survivor". Of course the insurgents have left. They're not stupid enough to take on the US military as if this is old style warfare with one army facing another on an open battelfield. Being massively outgunned, the insurgents' only hope is for guerilla warfare and patience, two things at which we've never excelled. i guess we didn't learn our lesson in Vietnam.

[Glenda]

20. Here's an Iraqi talking about regular people fleeing but returning

"Some people who fled the city a few days ago have begun returning because they ran out of food. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3748966.stm

So basically, if you flee, where do you go? And how do you survive?

[Quixote1818]

23. If they had ANY KIND OF common sense. I HAVE NO DOUBT MOST ARE GONE!