Bush's Decision on Possible Attack on Falluja Seems Near

[Dirty Hippie]

...

On Saturday, as a blinding sandstorm swept across a sprawling former Iraqi Army base near Falluja, Marine commanders were getting assignments for potential targets, studying maps and planning lines of attack for a battle that they expect could come in the next few days. The Marines have encircled the city, awaiting Mr. Bush's decision.

But the city, a sandy mix of wide boulevards and back alleys along the Euphrates River west of Baghdad, poses what military officials say is an immensely complicated and dangerous urban combat terrain.

While administration officials say they would like to carry out a precise attack on an estimated 2,000 hard-core Sunni Muslim insurgents, military officials say there is no way guided missiles or pinpoint bombing can do this job.

Instead, the military is planning swift raids by Marine riflemen — backed by helicopters and gunships — aimed at the insurgents' leaders and their gunmen, while encouraging others in the city to evacuate or stay under cover.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/25/international/25IRAQ.html?ex=1083844908&ei=1&en=ad7cc2ac89e2f2a3

IMO- Bush will order the attack. This will be a major turning point for the worse.

[bluestateguy]

1. Well

Now that we know what his personal assistant George W. Bush is thinking, what is karl Rove thinking?

[demoman123]

13. Well, well

I wonder what John Kerry is thinking.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-636907,curpg-1.cms

[DoYouEverWonder]

23. Don't know

cause your link doesn't work.

[Arbustosux]

2. What a crock of S**T!!!

Remember how he agonized for weeks prior to the war whether we would invade Iraq? He knew then, just like he knows now, exactly what he wants to do. This is all just theatrics.

[Matilda]

6. You are right, sadly. Falluja will be dust before the end of the week.

But what a hollow victory it will be, although Bush may not know it.
He has already lost Iraqi hearts and minds forever.

[jdunn]

10. Bush at war = Pyrrhic victory

Guaranteed.

[fearnobush]

3. Falluja is already toast, it's the other cities I worry about now

that Bush seems to get a slight bump in the polls after he kills a few hundred solders and a few thousand Iraqi's during each uprising. I fear he will do this right up until election time. Each time Kerry gets a bump in the polls, Bush will attack an other city and the sheeple of American will give him a bump. What a fucking mess.

[kysrsoze]

8. Somehow I think over time, this will not be a positive bump.

It's going to start turning disastrous. I mean, look at the exploding boats. This is NOT going well and it's going to get worse. I'm afraid it may soon spread to surrounding countries.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Sounds like Black Hawk Down part II

[caledesi]

16. Agree. How many Iraqis does the US have to plow through to

get to Sadr? "We got the guns, but they have the numbers"

[Matilda]

18. The really stupid thing about Sadr is that he was small fry

until Bremer closed down his paper. So what if it said nasty things
about the invaders? They could afford to let it go for the sake
of keeping the fragile peace, but no, Bremer had to show how tough
he was, and the result was a surge in violence. It's an extension
of "mine is bigger than yours".

[Kinkistyle]

21. Pancho Villa of Iraq

http://www.sp.utexas.edu/jrn/cwp/pvg/punitive.html

If you want to marginalize somebody, all you have to do is ignore them and pretend they don't exist. Oppositely, if you want someone to suddenly gain a upswell of popularity, treat the person as if though are a big deal. Pancho Villa became a legend in Mexico because the U.S. went through a whole dog and pony show about nabbing this 2 bit bandit and he led the U.S. army on a huge wild-goose chase throughout Mexico. If the U.S. had just decided to take care of him quietly and in the background, Pancho probably would have just faded out of everyone's memories.

The U.S. seems to be quite good at making martyrs.

[bobthedrummer]

5. George W. Bush aka The War President bases decisions on selective

intelligence-since when are USMC to be used to shut down newspapers, target world press or to take reprisals for mercenaries employed by The War President?:grr:

Bring our troops home.

[DulceDecorum]

14. They cannot openly admit

that the world's only superpower just got their asses handed back to them on a stick
by a bunch of rowdy men women and children who have no real organization or leader.

The people of Fallujah are behaving like Finns.

This story of the scrappy little country of Finland details how, with some cunning,
a tiny force can overcome the obscenely huge threat of an invasion by Russia.
http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/winter_war/

[kysrsoze]

7. This whole thing is fucked. I can't believe I'm seeing what I'm seeing

Do they really think this is somehow going to come out positive? Or do they give a shit? I can't figure out which one.

[leftchick]

17. yes I think they REALLY believe it will work and

do they give a shit? Not about people only about the election... :puke:

[huellewig]

9. We had one year to fix things.

We fucked up. The higher-ups failed due to a lack of smart planning. They could have pulled this off. Greed got in the way. And now it's blow-up what you don't like time. Welcome to our Palestine. crap..

[kysrsoze]

11. BTW - Love your sig

That's pretty hilarious.

[huellewig]

12. Thanks..

It seemed like a good way to combine my love of Apple with my hatred of Bush.

[daleo]

15. A bloodbath in Fallujah may not be as easy as BFEE thinks.

The Iraqis have plenty of places to strike in response.

[Matilda]

20. The Iraqis have one huge weapon that the coalition can't understand ..

they're not afraid to die for their country. That's pretty powerful.

[xchrom]

19. they make it sound like bush actually thinks

what a crock.

[leftchick]

22. Here is a souvenir this child received from your war aWol*

[Moderator]

24. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=508241