Wearing an American-supplied uniform and armed with a battered AK47 rifle, Abdullah lounged at the checkpoint on the outskirts of Fallujah.
A month ago he probably had his face masked by an Arab headscarf, and was launching attacks against US marines. Now, as a member of the US-sponsored Fallujah Brigade, he controls access to the city.
...US marines pulled out last month and an Iraqi security force hastily formed from Saddam Hussein's old army moved in. The fighting was over as abruptly as it had begun, with US commanders lauding the peace deal.
"It's an Iraqi solution to an Iraqi problem," said a marine general optimistically. Fallujah has since become a model for dealing with the Shia uprising in the south.
But few on the ground share such optimism. There may be peace, but officers say Fallujah has simply been handed over to the insurgents.
A US officer said: "All we've succeeded in doing is paying off the mujahideen to stop shooting at us. There's a cauldron of hate out there and its going to boil over."
The town is currently a no-go area for US troops, and by extension, any westerner. Despite lucrative rebuilding contracts, none has entered the city since four contractors were killed and their bodies mutilated in March, prompting the American incursion.
...Many American military officials now privately accept that going into Fallujah was a mistake. Seventy marines and an estimated 800 Iraqis were killed in six weeks of clashes. The fighting inspired the Shia uprising in the south.
But officials also say that leaving the insurgents unbeaten may prove a greater problem.
"It's difficult to understand what's been achieved in Fallujah. We've got to start from scratch all over again," said a member of the civil and military affairs team outside the city.
...Abdul Razzak is a civil engineer who has spent the past month assessing the war damage for compensation claims.
So far he has a bill running into the multi-millions with thousands of claimants. The US military has agreed to hand out £650 million.
Telegraph UK article
A month ago he probably had his face masked by an Arab headscarf, and was launching attacks against US marines. Now, as a member of the US-sponsored Fallujah Brigade, he controls access to the city.
...US marines pulled out last month and an Iraqi security force hastily formed from Saddam Hussein's old army moved in. The fighting was over as abruptly as it had begun, with US commanders lauding the peace deal.
"It's an Iraqi solution to an Iraqi problem," said a marine general optimistically. Fallujah has since become a model for dealing with the Shia uprising in the south.
But few on the ground share such optimism. There may be peace, but officers say Fallujah has simply been handed over to the insurgents.
A US officer said: "All we've succeeded in doing is paying off the mujahideen to stop shooting at us. There's a cauldron of hate out there and its going to boil over."
The town is currently a no-go area for US troops, and by extension, any westerner. Despite lucrative rebuilding contracts, none has entered the city since four contractors were killed and their bodies mutilated in March, prompting the American incursion.
...Many American military officials now privately accept that going into Fallujah was a mistake. Seventy marines and an estimated 800 Iraqis were killed in six weeks of clashes. The fighting inspired the Shia uprising in the south.
But officials also say that leaving the insurgents unbeaten may prove a greater problem.
"It's difficult to understand what's been achieved in Fallujah. We've got to start from scratch all over again," said a member of the civil and military affairs team outside the city.
...Abdul Razzak is a civil engineer who has spent the past month assessing the war damage for compensation claims.
So far he has a bill running into the multi-millions with thousands of claimants. The US military has agreed to hand out £650 million.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
