In Fallujah, peace meets impatience

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http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/02/21/in_fallujah_peace_meets_impatience/p]FALLUJAH, Iraq -- A surprising quiet reigns on the streets of this city, where three months ago US forces fought their toughest urban battle since Vietnam.

No Marine has been killed in Fallujah in about a month, commanders say. Troops move through narrow streets with less firepower than they do in Baghdad and more readily leave the shelter of armored Humvees to talk with Iraqis. Downtown, a few shops have reopened to sell mutton and fresh fruit, and last week, traffic police reappeared, blowing whistles and waving white gloves at the cars that have trickled back into the city.

But the calm comes at the price of tight US control, and both Fallujans and the Marines say it won't last if the US military and the Iraqi government don't quicken the pace of reconstruction, which has been slowed by bureaucratic hang-ups and a tight security clampdown.

After months of insurgent misrule and a devastating invasion, Fallujans believe they deserve what one school principal summed up as "a better life than we're used to." But so far, they've received almost no clean running water, electricity, or compensation for their damaged houses.

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