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.
...
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.
...
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.
If the resistance has won a victory in Fallujah,
it is one which few of its citizens rejoice in. Shops may be open and
markets stuffed with fresh vegetables, but everywhere bears the scars
of war.
Demolished houses pockmark the streets, and the
minaret of the main mosque, where snipers once hid, is riddled with
bullets. Iraqi officials estimate that more than 2,000 homes were damaged
in the fighting.
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.
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