US marines do not recommend return of residents to Fallujah

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/iraqfallujahusmilitary

<snip>


"At some point we'll make a recommendation, we haven't reached that point," Lieutenant Colonel Dan Wilson, a deputy commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, told reporters in a military base near Fallujah late on Friday.


Thousands fled Fallujah last month ahead of a massive US-led onslaught to wrest control of the city from Sunni Muslim insurgents and the fighting has left much of it in ruins.


The Iraqi interim government said on Thursday that residents could begin returning to the city, west of Baghdad, as early as next week, saying that basic services and aid had been restored.


But US Marines, backed by a small Iraqi force, are still trying to crush the remaining insurgents holed up in the city.


"We foresaw that in this phase of the operation it could take weeks to clear out the remaining pockets (of insurgents). We did anticipate such difficulties ... but we never tied this to a timeline," the officer said.



An Iraqi National Guard soldier stands in front of Fallujah refugees during a protest in Baghdad, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2004. Some 100 people demanded an appology from the Iraqi government for the US-led offensive on Fallujah last month. (AP Photo/Mohammed Khodor)

[Moderator]

1. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1081374