From: rhinoceros (rhinoceros@freemail.gr)
Date: Mon May 17 2004 - 17:38:33 MDT
[rhinoceros] Ah, this thread travelled to Iraq as well... So be it. Let's see what we have here.
[Joe Dees] As to that 'brutal general' Abdul-Latif, here's an enlightening little piece on him:
Iraqi General Urges Support of U.S. Troops
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20040516/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_fallujah_1=
Latif, speaking in Arabic to the sheiks, defended the Marines and the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"They were brought here by the acts of one coward who was hunted out of a rathole Saddam who disgraced us all," Latif said. "Let us tell our children that these men (U.S. troops) came here to protect us.
"As President Bush (news - web sites) said, they did not come here to occupy our land but to get rid of Saddam. We can help them leave by helping them do their job, or we can make them stay ten years and more by keeping fighting."
Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, the Marine battalion commander, said, "No truer words have been spoken here today than those by General Latif."
Latif also told the insurgents to "stop doing stupid things."
<snip>
[rhinoceros] This is not so bad, if you think that the occupation troops managed to restore order just by staying out of Falluja. But they could do even better. Here is another one:
US Must Leave Falluja, Iraq General Says
May 6, 2004
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0506-09.htm
"I want the American soldier to return to his camp. What I want more is that he returns to the United States," General Muhammad Latif told Reuters in an interview.
"They should leave very quickly, very quickly or there will be problems. If they stay it will hurt the confidence and we have built confidence. They should leave so that there will be more calm."
Latif and a group of generals offered to tame Falluja with their Falluja Brigade after the town was subject to a month-long siege in which hundreds of Iraqis died as U.S. air strikes and guerrilla mortars rocked the town.
Life has been calm over the last few days, but Marines are still on the edge of the Golan area of Falluja, where the heaviest fighting took place, manning checkpoints with Iraqi security forces under Latif's command.
Major General James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marines Division, said on Thursday after meeting Latif the Marines would maintain a presence around Falluja until certain security requirements were met.
"At some point, I am sure we will pull back if the foreign fighters are confirmed and turned over to us, the heavy weapons are turned over to the Iraqi army and then we get them. It is event driven," he said.
But Latif said there was no need for them to stay because Falluja was peaceful.
<snip>
[rhinoceros] And here is something more recent:
Fallujah Rebels, Residents, Police Celebrate Victory over U.S. Marines
May 10, 2004
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=323r
Members of both the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps joined armed mujahideen in celebration, waving their guns in the air and flashing the two-fingered "Victory" sign.
The US 1st Marine Division sent a small convoy into Fallujah today in order to meet with the mayor and show cooperation with the Iraqi Police (IP) and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC). But the supposed show of force was a pre-arranged exercise. Immediately following the Marines departure, the embattled city erupted into what could only be described as a huge victory celebration over the US military.Residents were joined by fully armed resistance fighters who intermingled freely with uniformed IP and ICDC personnel.
At roughly 11:00 this morning, several American Humvees and Stryker vehicles entered the downtown area of Fallujah, accompanied by pick-up trucks full of members of both the IP and ICDC, who traveled in front of, beside, and behind the military convoy. The small convoy slowly made its way inside the heavily blockaded Tribal Council compound.
A 1st Marine Division press release about the exercise says Marines "traveled into Fallujah today to exercise freedom of movement and meet with city officials."
Abdul Rahman, a captain in the ICDC, explained the Marines exercise as a negotiated concession. "There were negotiations between the people of Fallujah and the occupation forces," Captain Rahman said. "The plan is for the Americans to pull all of their troops out of the city after they get this one patrol."
After pausing to look at the military vehicles inside the compound, Rahman added, "We want them out of our country."
Nervous residents of the recently besieged city watched quietly from sidewalks as the vehicles sat for about 30 minutes inside the Tribal Council complex, behind concrete barriers some eight feet high. The scores of Iraqi Police and Iraqi Civil Defense Core members who had accompanied that patrol now guarded the building.
<snip>
Ahmed Saadoun Jassin, a uniformed Iraqi Policeman hired and trained by the US occupation authority, didnt bother containing his joy at seeing the Marines leave. "I cant describe to you the happiness I feel right now," he said. "This is a victory for Islam."
When asked about cooperating with the Marines, Jassin explained, "This was the deal that was negotiated. They couldnt stay in Fallujah for over one hour, which they didnt."
Shop owners threw handfuls of candy at the passing crowds. Many of the people celebrating waved old Iraqi flags, while some held up copies of the Quran.
<snip>
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