Monday, June 14, 2004

It's not working:

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- A top Marine officer here says the compromise that gave control of Fallujah to an Iraqi brigade in exchange for the withdrawal of Marines may be a failure.

"This was a noble experiment that may not work out," Col. Larry Brown, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's operations officer, said this weekend. "The brigade has not performed as well as we had hoped."...

• None of the men responsible for killing and mutilating four U.S. contractors on March 31 have been apprehended, even though last month the commander of the 1st Marine Regiment gave Fallujah police a list of 25 people sought in the killings.

• Few heavy weapons used in the fight against the Marines in April have been surrendered.

• The brigade has not been able to produce foreign terrorists the Marines are seeking.

"Our patience only extends so far. It's been over a month now and to be frank, the progress hasn't been what we wanted it to be," Brown said....


--USA Today


A new Iraqi-run brigade set up to enforce peace in Fallujah has yet to begin any missions against bands of insurgents who still roam the frontier town, U.S. officials say....

Gen. Latif's lack of action comes despite a June 9 rebel attack that killed 11 brigade members. Some military officers say the brigade's impotence underscores a perception that anticoalition mujahideen fighters won the battle of Fallujah....

The main fear is that an increasing number of Islamist extremists have taken to the streets to try to instill a Taliban-style government....


--Washington Times

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