One of the success stories in Iraq that the mainstream media
never publishes.
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August 27, 2007 New York Post
HOW MARINES PULLED FALLUJAH OUT OF HELL
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Marine 2nd Lt. Nick DeLonga, commander of a
Fallujah-based platoon, makes a stop during a routine patrol with
Iraqi police to chat with a giddy little girl.
August 27, 2007 -- FALLUJAH, Iraq -
Fallujah and the Marines have some history. In 2004, one savage
battle ended when the Marines were pulled out for political
reasons. Later that year, they had to finish the job.And they did.
They took down the terrorists' stronghold in a week of fury.
With a fundamentalist tradition, Fallujah seemed to fit al Qaeda
perfectly. Robbed of their Saddam-era privileges and out for
revenge, even secular locals had aligned with the terrorists.
Despite the Marine victory, violence simmered on.The extremists and
insurgents believed they could wear America down. But between 2004
and 2007, two things happened: We wore them down - and al Qaeda
wore them out.
With foreign fanatics butchering the innocent and enforcing
prison-yard "Islamic laws" that far exceeded the Koran's demands,
it belatedly dawned on the insurgents that, while we intended to
leave eventually - on our own terms - al Qaeda meant to stay.A wave
of suicide bombings earlier this year, culminating in a massive
attack on a funeral procession, made the population snap. The
people of Fallujah may never love us, but they hate al Qaeda with
the rage of a betrayed lover.
Since May, the change has been stunning. When the 2nd Battalion,
6th Marines were last in Fallujah, in 2006, they took casualties
from snipers and roadside bombs. The city was violent, bankrupt and
partly in ruins.
Now the battalion's back. And welcome. Marines banter with the
locals where, six months ago, it was risky to ride in an armored
vehicle.
Paradoxically, the violence of the past set the only possible
conditions for the sudden reconciliation. The Iraqis had to grasp
that we meant business. Now the 1st Platoon of the battalion's Fox
Company lives and works in the Hadari Precinct with the Iraqi
police.
The new police are recruited from vetted locals, and the policy has
paid huge dividends. The locals know who doesn't fit, and they've
got an immediate interest in their neighborhood's safety. Most
encouragingly, the reformed police are popular. Fallujah still
isn't a place to buy retirement property, but it was encouraging to
sit down with 1st Platoon's commander, 2nd Lt. Nick DeLonga, and
his Iraqi counterpart, 1st Lt. Mohammed.
DeLonga joined the Marines immediately after 9/11, because "I
didn't want to just sit and vote while others were dying." Now he's
the sheriff of a sprawling neighborhood in a war-torn city.
FIRST Lt. Mohammed's fa ther is a sheik, giving him a brand of
authority - and insight - an outsider could never attain. DeLonga
has the firepower (if ever needed) and the resources, while
Mohammed has the pull. It works.
We went for a stroll in the streets. The Marines still wear full
combat gear: Despite security measures, a sniper might still sneak
into the city. But there was no threat from the locals in the
market. The worst mood the Marines encountered was aloofness. More
often, they were welcomed with a polite greeting.
People are relieved that their streets are safe again. And the kids
are out in regiments, surrounding the Marines in hope of candy or
just a bit of attention.
For the Iraqi police lieutenant, our patrol was a triumphal
procession. DeLonga let Mohammed have center stage as citizens came
out to complain about lagging utilities or, in one striking case,
to protest that, as former residents of Baghdad, they had come to
Fallujah to be safe, but were being charged exorbitant rents. A
ward pol as well as a cop, Mohammed told his aides to write it all
down.
Mohammed is effective, but he might jar anyone with unrealistic
expectations. In our one-on-one meeting, he quoted Saddam: "You
must be sharp as a sword with civilians - and as soft as perfume."
But he's no hard-core Ba'athist: You have to remember that Saddam
shaped every Iraqi's life for more than three decades.
Anyway, men such as Lt. Mohammed have figured out that nostalgia
solves nothing. And thanks to al Qaeda's blood orgy, the old Middle
Eastern dictum applies: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In a
sense, al Qaeda set us up for success. BUT there's more to it. Much
more. The Marines and the Iraqi police find they get along
surprisingly well. The Americans realize that the Iraqis know the
buttons to press to get things done, while the Iraqis learn from
the Marines' professionalism.
I laughed to see Iraqi cops marveling at a Marine's, uh,
interesting tattoos, while the Marines are still surprised that the
environment has gone "nonkinetic" so fast.
And we're truly winning over some Iraqis. "Crash," is a Basra-born
interpreter (a "terp") who, more than anything else in the world,
wants to become a U.S. Marine. He lives and works with the Marines,
studies their rituals, works out with them - and carries himself
like a Marine. Crash also carries a weapon for self-defense - a
right he earned after pulling wounded Marines to safety in
combat."His" Marines are doing all they can to help him
enlist.
Fallujah? Some districts have ugly stretches of ruins, while others
are largely intact. The population has returned. And there's a
construction boom.
Meanwhile, the Marines have repaired generators, turned trash lots
into parks and created hundreds of jobs. Suddenly, the city's
movers and shakers want to work with the Marines.Oh, and the mullah
of the city's strictest mosque just sat down for the first time
with Lt. DeLonga. They got along fine.
Had I been asked three years ago if we'd ever be welcome in
Fallujah, I would've called it wrong. Not that the Iraqis want us
to stay forever, but they'd rather cooperate than fight at this
point. Given Fallujah's past, that's no small thing.
And the locals are out in front of us in the fight against al
Qaeda. Which is a big thing.I was in the city during one of the
last phases of Operation Alljah, which has been bringing the rule
of law back to the city's precincts, one by one. In the hours of
darkness, Marine engineers swept in and blocked the roads in and
out of one of the last un-purged districts with Jersey barriers.
The police moved in to bust suspected terrorists and kick out
hoodlums who don't have local roots.
In a "swarm," identification cards are provided to all, beginning
with the local movers and shakers. Volunteers are vetted to join
the police or armed neighborhood-watch groups. And revitalization
programs go into gear.
Capt. Mason Harlow, the Fox Company commander, was wounded by
shrapnel two years ago. In Fallujah. Now he's back, overseeing the
Hadari District and two others. His Marines haven't been attacked
for months. And his former enemies are doing his work for him.Capt.
Harlow didn't think he'd live to see the day.
--- Ralph Peters is reporting from Iraq. His new book is "Wars of
Blood and Faith."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08272007/news/columnists/how_marines_pulled_fallujah_ou.htm