U.S. Marines Hand Falluja to Former Saddam General

[cjbuchanan]

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines handed control in Falluja to a former general in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Republican Guard on Friday but new violence showed that a month of fighting in the besieged Sunni Muslim city was not over.

In a reversal of Washington's previous policy of excluding senior members of Saddam's Baathist regime from power, Jasim Mohamed Saleh said his new force would help police bring order and relieve a month-long siege that has cost hundreds of lives.

"We have now begun forming a new emergency military force," he told Reuters, saying people in Falluja "rejected" U.S. troops.

more at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20040430/ts_nm/iraq_dc


What?

[curlyred]

1. I'm confused

I thought these folks were the bad guys. I thought Saddam loyalists were fomenting rebellion and were behind the insurgency.

I heard on NPR this morning that this general was wearing his OLD UNIFORM when he met with American--oops--Coalition--forces for the hand over.

I bet that's going to go over real well with the people in Fallujah.

[havocmom]

5. Probably going over real well with the marines too.

Is this the new face/defination of surrender? We are turning it over to the evil do-ers we went to rescue the Iraqi people from?

I still maintain they had to get Saddam cuz he saved all the reciepts for the stuff they sold him and he was blackmailing them.

[saigon68]

20. HERE HE IS FOLKS WITH HIS REPUBLICAN GUARD UNIFORM



Leader of the Fallujah Protective Army Maj. Gen. Jassim Mohammed Saleh, strides passed a U.S.
Army checkpoint on the edge of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, April 30, 2004. Saleh, a
veteran of Saddam's Republican Guard, will lead a 1,100 member Iraqi force which has begun
taking over Marine positions in Fallujah. (AP Photo/Abdel Kader Saadi)


On Edit: He knows how to use a set of TESTICLE CRUSHERS His prior Boss was
CHEMICAL ALI



Members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and Iraqi civilians wave their national flag as they greet
Iraqi Major
General, Jassem Mohamed Saleh, who will command the newly-formed Fallujah Protection
Army.(AFP/Ramzi
Haidar)


On Edit: No blue and yellow flag here:



An Iraqi soldier rests alongside Kalashnikov assault rifles after entering the town of Falluja, April
30, 2004. U.S. Marines handed over control in Falluja to a former general in Saddam Hussein
news - web sites)'s Republican Guard on Friday, but new violence showed that a month of
fighting in the besieged Sunni Muslim city was not over. REUTERS/Akram Sale

On Edit: Nice collection of AK’s I wonder if they kept those from the Good Old Days or
whether we gave them to this War Lords Posse

[cjbuchanan]

33. Anyone else notice the flag

It is Saddam's flag, not the new flag.

Guess they didn't get the memo.

Glad we got rid of the old regime.

[hippiechick]

8. History repeating itself ...

They're not so bad now that * needs SOMEONE in charge over there and get he can his arse out of it ...

Just watch, ever-so conveniently in 10 or 12 years under the next BFEE Reign of Terror, there will be another call for 'Regime Change' in Iraq to give Halliburton some gov't contracts, uh, I mean ... liberate, uh .. discover weapons of, uh ... well, you know ... :eyes:


:hippie:

[htuttle]

18. Yes, he was wearing his Iraqi military uniform -- here's a pic from today

[happynewyear]

23. be jezussssssssz

Yee gads! He looks like a fat version of Saddam! Is this the fat OBL all over AGAIN!!!

I wonder, was this guy one of Saddam's doubles by chance? :evilgrin:

I betcha Saddam is enjoying his birthday cake and laughing like a SOB right now!

[RobertSeattle]

2. Yet another example if the President was a (D) the R's would be

calling for an Impeachment.

Example statements would be:
"To give up now is a disgrace to those who have fallen"
"This will just encourage the terrorists"

[havocmom]

3. No WMD, no flowers thrown at US troops, no nerve gas, no long range

missles, no connection to Osama (where is he, by the way), no terrorists until we invaded and they came in the insuing chaos, no connection to 9-11 attacks in America, no mission accomplished, no sign of freedom and/or democracy and now we are givng control back to the Baathists?

OK, I'm blonde. Can somebody espain this all too me?

[spinbaby]

9. They were saving the flowers for the general

From Al Jazeera:

"Hundreds of people in Falluja have taken to the streets to welcome a former officer of the Iraqi army who has taken control of the city, following a pullout by US occupation forces.

"People waving Iraqi flags and Iraqi security forces cheered the former officer of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard Jasim Muhammad Salih, wearing his old army uniform, when he entered the town centre and gave a speech on Friday."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/190BAACA-B38D-406F-A32F-74E5EBC5DED6.htm

[rocktivity]

19. Were the Iraqis waving their NEW flag?

guess not...



:headbang:
rocknation

[saigon68]

45. The new flag won't be a hit

I have a feeling it will never catch on.

It will be fun to use it on the NEOCONS later.

[IndianaGreen]

47. Here is a picture of the flag they are flying

I think Bremer/Chalabi's flag has just gone into the ash heap of history, a historic footnote to be used as a question in a future game show.


Members of the Fallujah Brigade sit in
front of a checkpoint manned by the
U.S. Army.

Iraqi forces patrolling Fallujah
Saturday, May 1, 2004 Posted: 2:06 PM EDT (1806 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Soldiers from the newly formed Iraqi Army's Fallujah Brigade are conducting patrols as part of the effort to end the standoff with insurgents in the city, a Marine commander said on Saturday.

"We have assigned the Iraqi battalion to our least-engaged sector until they can get their feet on deck, absorb the weapons and equipment that we are passing their way and prepare for the next phase of the operation," Marine Lt. Gen. Jim Conway said.

They assumed control of four checkpoints Friday and have started patrolling, he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/01/iraq.main/index.html

[AussieInCA]

4. BBC interview yesterday said he used to work for Chemical Ali

[maddezmom]

22. well he served in the Republican Guard

~snip~
However, a former Iraqi general, Mohammed al-Askari, said Saleh served in Iraq's elite Republican Guards in the 1980s and later commanded the 38th Infantry Division of the Iraqi army.

He was then promoted to head all of the Iraqi army's infantry forces, al-Askari said. His last posting was as a division commander in the al-Quds (Jerusalem) army, which was initially founded to liberate Jerusalem but grew into a vast paramilitary force.

In that capacity, he spent the war last year assigned to a military base in Ramadi, just west of Fallujah, according to Haroun Mohammed, an Iraqi journalist based in London.

Saleh also has deep roots in Fallujah. Another London-based Iraqi journalist, Osama al-Fahaly, said Saleh is a Fallujah native and belongs to the Mohammadi tribe, the town's largest, and is a close relative of the tribe's leader. Fallujah natives reached in neighboring Jordan confirmed Saleh is a well-known figure in the clan.
~snip~

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer/ap.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Saleh

[LibInternationalist]

6. This is unbelievable

before, it was unbelievable, but now we're really going down the rabbit hole, folks

[Demoiselle]

28. We've been down the rabbit hole since December 2000

(eom)

[drfemoe]

7. yahoo news links go dead after about a week ..

U.S. to Give Iraqi Soldiers Chance to Pacify Fallujah (Update1)
April 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. will give Iraqis the chance to restore control in Fallujah, while retaining the right to patrol the violent city and possibly mount an offensive to kill or capture foreign fighters, U.S. General John Abizaid told reporters from Qatar today.

Abizaid, the 53-year-old commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said it was an ``opportunity to build an Iraqi security force'' in Fallujah in a ``step by step effort'' after U.S. Marines laid siege to the city this month. The operation was mounted after four U.S. civilian contractors were killed as they passed through the city. Their bodies were then mutilated and hung from bridges, with the images broadcast throughout the world.
...
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=adEZ6lnhqL.c&refer=us

[ElsewheresDaughter]

10. "ruse de guerre"..pulling our troops back to perpare for massive BOMBINGS!

MARK MY WORDS!!!
ruse de guerre:
Pronunciation: rz-d&-ger
Usage: foreign term
Etymology: French
: war stratage

Websters: ruse
Pronunciation: 'rüs, 'rüz
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Middle French, from ruser to dodge, deceive
Date: 1625
: a wily subterfuge
synonym see TRICK

bushco is just saying that saddams old soldiers are be handed authority of Faluja so that our troops can pull back safely....then the MOABS will fall on Faluja....bush is EVIL!!!! and never forget it

[keithyboy]

11. The most dangerous of all 'flip-flops' Why is no one saying this?

You can flip-flop on Congressional policies and be labeled a danger to country, but if you flip-flop on putting former terrorists in charge of occupied territories it's ok.

[IndianaGreen]

49. We are the only terrorists in Iraq

and the sooner we pack our bags and high tail back to CONUS, the better off we'll be.

[neverforget]

12. So when do they turn on us? Tomorrow, next week, next month?

[kymar57]

29. turn on us

That was the opinion of everyone at work today,R & D alike. One Repug even likened it to the scene from the movie Braveheart,when the British sent the Irish into battle first to soften up the Scots. Of course they met midfield and lowered their arms and greeted each other before turning back on the British. I was struck by the fact that I had read the very same analogy here yesterday. peace

[BattyDem]

13. WTF????

After all other reasons for going to war turned out to be bogus, the Repugs used the "Well, at least we got rid of that brutal dictator, Saddam" defense. But now they're giving control of Fallujah to Saddam's General? I don't believe this! If the Dems speak out against Bush*, they're "aiding and abetting the enemy" but Bush* puts the enemy in power - literally - and it's just fine!

Wake up, America ... our soldiers died for absolutely nothing! :grr:

[yellowcanine]

14. Good idea Rummy - That oughta work.

I mean, we haven't tried this anywhere else, right? Remember that other dirty little war that Mr. Dick "I had other priorities" Cheney and George "I think I will just skip my flight physical" Bush managed to avoid?

[Chicago Democrat]

15. Bring Back Saddam! That's the ticket!

He really knew how to keep things in order!

[BattyDem]

17. We all know ...

that Saddam is in a cell somewhere LAUGHING HIS ASS OFF!

[74dodgedart]

16. I thought they said the people in Fallujah were ex-Baathists

So we send Saddam's generals to subdue Saddam loyalists ? What a cluster...

[SOS]

52. Re: Baathists

From an op-ed in the NYT (cut to adhere to DU rules):

By Sandra Mackey

The United States is in a no-win situation in Falluja.

It didn't have to be this way. Had the United States taken more time to understand the city Ñ a place where even Saddam Hussein ventured cautiously Ñ it might have been able to avoid the current showdown. Part of the misunderstanding can be seen in the way the Pentagon talks about the situation in Falluja, describing those holed up there as either die-hards of Saddam Hussein's regime or foreigners promoting the ideology of Al Qaeda. What the Pentagon is neglecting is a third group, one that could prove more deadly to the occupation: the tribes of central Iraq. They are a tough lot with a long history of resistance to any outside authority.

When he took over Iraq, Saddam Hussein, a member of the Bu Nasir tribe, replicated Arif's model in his own tribal homeland, Tikrit. But the Jumaila were outside his bounds of kinship, and he never trusted the tribesmen of Falluja as he did his own kin. The Bu Nasir and those closely allied with them made up Mr. Hussein's elite Republican Guard and security services. Most of Falluja's tribesmen went into the regular armed forces, and no one from Falluja was part of Mr. Hussein's inner circle.

But because Mr. Hussein harbored a prudent fear of Falluja's tribesmen, he gave them perks. The government invested heavily in construction projects. Tribal leaders were paid off with allowances. But like his predecessors apart from Arif, Mr. Hussein never fully won their loyalty. Now it is the American occupation that the tribes of Falluja resist.

Falluja is tribal territory, one that functions by tribal rules. There are expectations of hospitality, practices for settling disputes and obligations of revenge against anyone committing an offense against a member of the tribe. The last Ñ revenge Ñ poses a big problem for the United States .... for every tribesman who is killed, the kinship group remains, obligated to avenge his death.
The only possible strategy for the United States would be to step back from Falluja and negotiate individually with tribal leaders, transferring to them the responsibility for security in the city.

Full article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/opinion/29MACK.html

[keithyboy]

21. Can you imagine in your wildest dreams if Clinton had done this??!!!!

Impeachment would be almost over by now.
Is this treason? While we are actively engaged in a 'war' (our definition) we hand over occupied territory to the enemy?

WTF? Why aren't the Freepers outraged?

[calimary]

35. There'd be so many counts of impeachment, or so many

impeachment proceedings going on simultaneously that it'd take another four years just to get through it all. But this schmuck? Aw, free pass, george. Don't want you to have to get your little hands dirty...

[daleo]

24. It would be funny

If so many people hadn't died.

[saigon68]

26. You are right

That is the sad part of this Tragic comedy

[happynewyear]

27. yeah its like watching a melodrama

that doesn't seem to end! What a nightmare this whole thing has become.

Maybe they should just reinstate Saddam! What a waste of human lives! :(

[kymar57]

25. what's that smell??

could it be freep brains melting

[saigon68]

30. it reeks

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1127572/posts

[webtrainer]

41. and how. . . uhh, innovative

they are (in their approach to freeping Kerry in CA)

-->snip

A fellow freeper and me were trying to figure out some poster ideas, and we came up with this: how about we buy a bunch of flip/flops,I believe they sell them at the 99¢ store(50¢ a Flip flop!, it doesn't get any better than that). We could stick these on posters and stuff like that. It would be funny as hell.

snip<--

Flip flops! On posterboard! Cheap and funny both. Wow, they're good.

[koopie57]

43. I read some of the comments

and now that I have pulled my chin off the floor. I wonder what colleges these critters went to where things like this were just good old fun. And I couldn't really tell if these pictures were bad cuz they show us in a bad light, or if they were bad cuz of the inhumanity and indecency.

[54anickel]

31. This is the dumbest sentence I have ever read by someone other than

Shrub. Talk about sufficiently coverin yer a$$ for when the sh*t hits the fan.

Pentagon (news - web sites) spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said: "There are people that have done sufficient vetting to feel sufficiently confident that this guy (Saleh) will be sufficiently supportive."

[PurityOfEssence]

32. At least it's sufficient, huh?

Suffice it to say that sufficient sufficiency exists do deny his insufficiency.

[annagull]

37. "Vetting": Make sure Salah's face isn't on Iraqi M.W. playing cards

This is a face saver for our benefit only. The rest of the world knows we were checkmated and were forced to leave or face all of Iraq raising up against the coalition.

[daleo]

53. I will admit, I checked the playing cards today (online)

There was nobody by that name in the cards, but I wouldn't put it past them to use a variation of the name or an alias. Maybe they held back a few big players from Saddam's military and government for just this eventuality. While sufficiently Machiavellian, it would seem to require more foresight than they can usually muster, though.

[Ilsa]

34. Scott Ritter said something about this, no?

Something about leaving with our tails between our legs (because it's an occupation) or did he add something about getting asses kicked?

[annagull]

36. Call me crazy, but it looks to me like we gave up

Iraqis raise flag at Fallujah; two more U.S. soldiers killed
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/04/30/iraq/index.html

So what do you call it when the marines pull back if not out, our former enemy is in charge of the town, and they raise the flag of Saddam?

[dArKeR]

38. US surrenders Fallujah to Saddam general - IOL

By Fadel Badran

Fallujah - American Marines handed control of Fallujah to a former general in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard on Friday but fresh clashes showed that a month of fighting with Sunni Muslim insurgents was not over.

In a reversal of the Unites States government's previous policy of excluding members of Saddam's Baathist regime from power, Jasim Mohamed Saleh said his new force would help police bring order and relieve a month-long siege that has cost hundreds of lives.

"We have now begun forming a new emergency military force," he said, saying the people of Fallujah "rejected" US troops.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=qw1083334683109B262&set_id=1

[dArKeR]

39. 'A real crisis of leadership in Iraq' - MG

The torture of Iraqi prisoners by United States and British soldiers is "not an isolated incident", the human rights organisation Amnesty International said on Friday.

Responding to television pictures showing the abuse of naked Iraqi prisoners in the presence of jeering US soldiers, AI said in a statement: "It is not enough for the USA to react only once images have hit the television screens."

The organisation said there was a "real crisis of leadership in Iraq -- with double standards and double speak on human rights".

"There must be a fully independent, impartial and public investigation into all allegations of torture. Nothing less will suffice," said AI, adding that compensation should be paid to the victims or their families.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=64523

[Spazito]

40. I just watched a clip on Canadian news and the Shi'ite are enraged...

that a Sunni General from Saddam's Guard has been put in charge of the Iraqi troops. I can't believe how incredibly stupid this move is, big, big mistake, imo.

[progressivebydesign]

42. I thought we LIBERATED these people from them???

Ummm.. am I just too innocent? Shouldn't the JOURNALISTS be screaming about this? Shouldn't someone mention that once the WMDs turned out to be a sham, that we were supposedly liberating the Iraqis from the torturers and murderers that were Saddam's men? Someone mentioned tonight that they thought this guy was on the deck of most wanted??? WTF??

[daleo]

44. Looks like someone has looked through the files of Operation Paperclip

For a few ideas. Not exactly the same, but some parallels. For anyone who doesn't know, this was the secret program to 'rehabilitate' key ex-Nazis after the war (WWII for those counting).

[bobthedrummer]

48. Yep, the old tried and true methods of betrayal of US in the name of

national security! Nazis were in the CIA from it's foundation and they found a political home in the RW of the Republican Party
http://www.spiritone.com/~gdy52150/ratlines.htm
:grr:

[Politicub]

46. If your government overthrows a dictator

in the name of "freedom" and then installs his inner circle to bludgeon the people into submission, you must be living in Bush's America.

[fedsron2us]

50. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

What happened to all that talk from Bush and Blair about giving the Iraqis freedom and democracy. It seems when things have got tough they prefer to rely on the old 'axis of evil' to get them out of a hole.

[4dsc]

51. Sleeping with the enemy..

What a strange set of event we have witnessed here in the past week. First, the people we alledgely liberated are now the enemy and the enemy is now our ally...

And the US corporate media didn't catch a thing...

[cjbuchanan]

54. What a strange week indeed

The old people plus the old flag equals happy Iraq? Seems wrong to me.