For the insurgents who want to drive the U.S. out
of Iraq, Fallouja has become the embodiment of their fight, a rallying
cry that has drawn unknown numbers of new recruits into the guerrilla
war against the U.S.-led occupation and Washington's blueprint for
a Western-style democratic government in the country.
Between 1,000 and 2,000 Iraqi and foreign fighters
are believed to be gathered in the city, though officials stress that
the numbers are rough estimates.
As for the Iraqi public, the level of civilian casualties
in the last three weeks - and the prospect of more deaths - has eroded
support, even among moderates, for the U.S.-led effort.
...
Marine brass wanted a solution that included insurgents voluntarily
relinquishing their weapons and Iraqi police and the Civil Defense
Corps returning to provide security. Many of those security officers
fled the city when the fighting began, and the defection was a major
disappointment to U.S. officials, who see police, Defense Corps members
and the new Iraqi army as the successors to U.S. troops.
"We know that the sooner we can put an Iraqi face
on security, the sooner people [will] gain self-respect and put their
own situation back to normal [and] the sooner we can recede off the
horizon," Conway said.
...
About 350 officers and corps members returned to duty Tuesday and Wednesday,
and several hundred waited in a lengthy line Thursday to re-register
for duty and thus be restored to the payroll.
Each man was asked whether he would be willing to
patrol alongside U.S. troops - a key goal of the Marines in a city
where security forces have for months resisted working in proximity
to Americans, fearing retribution from opponents of the occupation.
Police and corps members who said they were unwilling to work with
U.S. troops were not taken back.
...
Law enforcement authorities waiting to be interviewed by the Marines
said they were eager to get back to work and arrest the thieves who
were stealing from homes and businesses.
But when asked to place the blame for the fighting,
they were equivocal.
"The Americans came and the planes killed people," said
Nori Hamad, an Iraqi police officer in Fallouja. "We want to protect
our town, but too many people are dying."
Added another police officer, Ayad Naji: "Since
the Americans came, there is no water, nothing to eat, no electricity.
Many children have died because of the airplanes."
Civil corpsman Adil Firah said the Marines were
keeping people from fulfilling their religious obligations.
"The Americans shoot at people and we cannot attend
mosque," he said. "The thieves come from outside of Fallouja. We can
take care of them, without the Americans."
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