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US
forces seal off Fallujah, Monday, April 5, in
preparation for a major operation.
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The
men of the restive city of Fallujah are not afraid. Speaking to
reporters, they egg the US soldiers on. "Come into our city
and we will show them what we are made of," they say.
"They have tanks and planes but are cowards, we will fight
till there are none of us left," others say.
The
people of Fallujah are expecting the worst. They know the US
military will not allow itself to be humiliated in the manner of
last week's mutilation and hanging of four killed US mercenaries
working for the private security firm Blackwater. They know the
US military will not allow the daily attacks on convoys to go
unpunished. A few hours before the horrific mutilations and
lynching, five US soldiers died when a powerful improvised
explosive device ripped their armored personnel carrier apart.
And
the US military is edging for a fight. On Monday morning, US
forces closed off the Iraq-Amman highway which leads through
Fallujah. Reporters attempting to enter the city have told this
writer that they were told by US officers that the area
surrounding Fallujah - and the city itself - is off-limits to
reporters, a restrictive zone, expected to be closed down for
anywhere between two to 10 days.
Iraq
analysts fear that the US is about to commit a war-crime by
laying siege to Fallujah and punishing its citizens by
disallowing shipments of food and water.
With
no independent reports from Fallujah, Iraq analysts warn the
world could be kept in the dark about scores of civilians likely
to be caught in military confrontation between US forces and
Iraqi resistance.
Analysts
fear that the US is about to commit a war-crime in Fallujah. |
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Coalition
authorities have promised a swift and precise response to last
week's mutilations of four contract servicemen who were ambushed
in central Fallujah. However, in media reports filed before the
city was cordoned off, angry Iraqis claimed that it was US
policy in the area that fueled their anger. Among their
complaints:
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Mounting
of the foot over the neck of Iraqis - an affront in Iraqi
society
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The
detaining of Iraqi women and teenage girls
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The
house searches well into the dead of night, using shock
bombs, threats, and verbal abuse
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The
returning of detained women, often barely clothed
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The
killing of civilians by US forces with no assumption of
responsibility or guilt
Iraq
is entering a perilous phase as Iraqis begin to realize that the
freedom they were promised was a thinly-veiled farce aimed at
extorting the country of its mineral and oil wealth. There is
open revolt in the south of Iraq where the young cleric Muqtada
Sadr has declared that negotiating and/or exercising democratic
tools like protests and demonstrations has not worked with the
Coalition. His Mahdi Army has seized several police stations
throughout the south of Iraq. US forces retaliated by seizing a
Sadr office in Kirkuk.
As
the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad arrives, the fall
of Iraq into absolute anarchy seems imminent.
Firas
Al-Atraqchi is a Canadian journalist of Iraqi heritage. Holding
an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has eleven years
of experience covering
Middle East
issues, oil and gas markets, and the telecom industry. You can
reach him at firascape@hotmail.com.
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