Allawi getting close to battle in Fallujah

Iraqi PM Allawi has been trying for several months to get a "peaceful" resolution to the conflict in Fallujah, Iraq since Marines were ordered to stand down by President Bush in April of this year. However, the Boston Herald is now reporting that Allawi considers the deteriorating situation to be in the "final phase", as he believes that Fallujah needs to be under control and stabalized for elections to take place on 31 January 2005. (Remember, Bush had "no plan" for post war Iraq)

• He warned of civilian casualties, saying that if he orders an assault it would be with a ``heavy heart,'' because ``there will be some loss of innocent lives.'' "But I owe, owe it to the Iraqi people to defend them from the violence and the terrorists and insurgents,'' he said.
• ``We have now entered the final phase of attempts to solve Fallujah without a major military confrontation. I hope we can achieve this, but if we cannot, I have no choice but to secure a military solution,'' he added.
• Sunni clerics have threatened to call for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign and to boycott national elections in January if the Americans attack Fallujah.
• Fallujah is believed to be the headquarters of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who announced his allegiance to al-Qaida this month.

(I thought there was no Iraq-al Qaeda connection and the war in Iraq is a diversion?)

• In April, U.S. Marines launched a major assault on Fallujah after the slaying of four American security contractors, whose burned and mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets and hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River.
  However, the assault unleashed a firestorm of criticism among Iraqis, including key members of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, who complained of hundreds of civilian casualties. The Marines lifted the siege after three weeks and handed security over to a brigade of Fallujah residents under the command of Saddam's former officers.
  The brigade melted away and the city fell under the control of hardline Sunni clerics and their mujahedeen fighters.
  American officers estimate up to 5,000 Islamic militants, Saddam loyalists and common criminals are holed up in Fallujah. Thousands more operate in other cities of the Sunni Triangle and in Baghdad.

In my opinion, not finishing the job in April is one of the biggest misjudgments of the entire war. Bush promised retalliation for the 4 dead contractors, but ultimately, he didn't deliver. Henceforth, the islamo-fascist resistors have been emboldened and killed numerous soldiers and Marines in the city.

On the other hand, Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar thinks the proper resolution of problems in Fallujah is not a military one, though he noted that most of those fighting against the coalition forces are Saddam loyalists and foreign fighters.

• "I totally differ with those who believe there is a need for a military solution to the (Fallujah) issue," Yawar said, describing the US-led coalition's managing of the crisis as wrong and instead calling for continued dialogue.
  
  "This will encourage neutral citizens to stop sympathizing with the rebels, most of whom are Saddam Hussein loyalists and forces which came from outside Iraq," Yawar said.