The War Profiteers - The Falluja Killing Chronicles

The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings & Torture

The Falluja Killing Chronicles
Background	Videos		Media Reports		Military Reports		Photo Credits

Background “Three years after a devastating U.S.-led siege of the city, residents of Fallujah continue to struggle with a shattered economy, infrastructure, and lack of mobility. The city that was routed in November 2004 is still suffering the worst humanitarian conditions under a siege that continues. Although military actions are down to the minimum inside the city, local and US authorities do not seem to be thinking of ending the agonies of the over 400,000 residents of Fallujah. ‘You, people of the media, say things in Fallujah are good,’ Mohammad Sammy, an aid worker for the Iraqi Red Crescent in Fallujah told IPS, ‘Then why don’t you come and live in this paradise with us? […]’ His anger is due to the fact that the embattled city is still completely closed and surrounded by military checkpoints to make it look like an isolated island. […]” Excerpt of an IPS news article from November 20^th, 2007.				Killed man in Falluja making ‘Shuhada’ sign

Individual Killings: The Falluja Killings of November 9^th, 2004

Videos November 13^th, 2004 - The Falluja Mosque Killing November 2004 - Urban Combat in Falluja April 2004 - The Falluja Aerial Bombing

Media Reports December 29^th, 2008 - Falluja Rebuilds And Looks With Relief to Exit of U.S. Troops 1 news article from International Herald Tribune November 2^nd, 2008 - US still the Villain in Iraq’s Former Rebel Bastion 1 news article by Agence France Presse October 25^th, 2008 - Iraqi Sunni Bloc Breaks Ties with US after Killing 1 news article by Agence France Presse November 20^th, 2007 - Fallujah Now Under a Different Kind of Siege 1 news article by Inter Press Service February 23^rd, 2007 - Fallujans Defiant Amidst Chaos 1 news article by Inter Press Service January 19^th, 2007 - The War Becomes More Unholy 1 news article by Inter Press Service December 15^th, 2006 - U.S. Troops Raid Hospital Again 1 news article by the Atlantic Free Press December 3^rd, 2006 - ‘Damascus is near, where is Baghdad?’ asks Fallujah 1 news article by The News - International (Pakistan) November 23^rd, 2006 - Under Fire, US Marines Hand off Battered Fallujah 1 news article by the Christian Science Monitor November 19^th, 2006 - For Sunnis Fleeing Baghdad, Once-Deadly Fallujah is a Refuge 1 news article by the Associated Press November 8^th, 2006 - ‘Lifestyle’ in Fallujah: Fear, Death 1 news article by McClatchy Newspapers November 2^nd, 2006 - Fallujah: U.S. Military Adopts Desperate Tactics 1 news article by Inter Press Service October 24^th, 2006 - U.S. Troops Mistakenly Kill Four Iraqi Firemen 1 news article by the Times Of India November 24^th, 2005 - Life Goes On in Fallujah’s Rubble 1 news article by Inter Press Service June 3^rd, 2005 - The Failed Siege of Fallujah 1 news article by Asia Times June 1^st, 2005 - ‘I knew what I had right away’ 1 news article by the Guardian May 4^th, 2005 - No Charges In Fallujah Shooting 1 news article by the Associated Press December 16^th, 2004 - An Eyewitness Account of Fallujah 1 news article by the Ester Republic December 3^rd, 2004 - Fallujah Refugees Tell of Life and Death in the Kill Zone 1 news article by the New Standard November 26^th, 2004 - ‘Unusual Weapons’ Used in Fallujah 1 news article by Inter Press Service November 23^rd, 2004 - ‘Something was not right’ 1 news article by the Guardian November 20^th, 2004 - For One Family in Falluja, a Simple Drive Turns Deadly 2 news articles by the New York Times November 19^th, 2004 - As U.S. Forces Raided a Mosque 1 news article by Inter Press Service November 17^th, 2004 - More Fallout From Mosque Shooting 1 news article by CBS/Associated Press November 16^th, 2004 - U.S. Probes Shooting at Fallujah Mosque 2 news articles by MSNBC, NBC News & Inter Press Service November 15^th, 2004 - The Air is Polluted with the Stench of Death 2 news articles by the Independent & Inter Press Service November 14^th, 2004 - Civilian Cost of Battle for Falluja Emerges 2 news articles by the Observer & the Sunday Herald November 10^th, 2004 - Iraq: Medical Needs Massive in Fallujah - Red Crescent 1 news article by IRINnews.org November 9^th, 2004 - US Troops Enter Falluja as Jets Pound Rebel-held City 1 news article by the Guardian October 21^st, 2004 - Falluja in their Sights 1 news article by the Guardian October 6^th, 2004 - Take Them Out, Dude: Pilots Toast Hit on Iraqi ‘Civilians’ 1 news article by the Independent & transcript of a Channel 4 News (UK) documentary August 1^st, 2004 - Falluja: Documenting Death 1 news article by Al-Ahram April 29^th, 2004 - US Forces to Pull Out of Falluja 1 news article by the Guardian April 28^th, 2004 - Gunships Pound Falluja Despite Ceasefire Claims 1 news article by the Guardian April 26^th, 2004 - Geneva Convention ‘Breached’, Agencies Warn 1 news article by the Guardian April 20^th, 2004 - US Reaches Deal with Leaders in Falluja 1 news article by the Guardian April 14^th, 2004 - Americans ‘Drop Demand for Handover of Killers in Falluja Atrocity’ 1 news article by the Guardian April 9^th, 2004 - Chaos, Killing and Kidnap 1 news article by the Guardian April 1^st, 2004 - Americans Burned and Mutilated by Iraq Mob 1 news article by the Guardian May 1^st, 2003 - Two Killed in New Iraq Demo Shooting 1 news article by the Mirror

Military Reports March 31^st, 2006 - Complex Environments; Battle of Fallujah I, April 2004 Report by the U.S. Army National Ground Intelligence Center “[…] Purpose - This is the second of a series of assessments that analyzes recent warfare in complex environments. Enemy employment of asymmetric tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) during the Battle of Fallujah in April 2004 offers many useful lessons learned in how a relatively weak adversary can prevent the United States from accomplishing its military objectives. […] “Historical Background to Vigilant Resolve - In April 2003 Coalition forces occupied Fallujah with little fighting a few weeks after seizing Baghdad. By the end of the month tensions began to rise over the Coalition presence. On 28 April 2003 a large Iraqi crowd protesting the Coalition takeover of a school turned violent and 15 Iraqis were killed. Violence against Coalition forces continued throughout the late summer and fall of 2003, prompting U.S. forces to shift their garrison locations to a series of camps outside of the city. Foreign fighters began to infiltrate and use Fallujah as a base of operations. Finally, on 31 March 2004, four American Blackwater contractors were killed and images of their bodies being burned and mutilated were broadcast on television around the world. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, CENTCOM Commander GEN Abizaid, and Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Ambassador Bremer decided a military response was needed immediately. Fallujah had become a symbol of resistance that dominated international headlines. […] “Conclusions - The relative failure of the first Battle of Fallujah compared to the more successful second Battle of Fallujah (November 2004) offers useful political-military lessons for how to defeat asymmetric adversaries in complex environments. “The enemy will seek to utilize the human, informational, and physical complexity of urban areas to avoid direct military confrontation and exploit American political and informational vulnerabilities. “Shaping operations that clear civilians from the battlefield offers many positive second-order effects. In Fallujah in April 2004, I MEF only had a few days to shape the environment before engaging in decisive combat operations. The remaining noncombatants provided cover for insurgents, restrained CJTF-7's employment of combat power, and provided emotional fodder for Arab media to exploit. “Information operations are increasingly important in a 21st Century world where cable television runs 24 hours a day and the Internet offers propaganda opportunities for insurgent and terrorist groups. “The media presence on the battlefield was controlled by the enemy; consequently, they shaped much of the information the world viewed during the fight. In VIGILANT RESOLVE there were few reporters embedded in Marine infantry units; in Operation AL FAJR there were 91 embeds representing 60 media outlets. False allegations of noncombatant casualties were made by Arab media in both campaigns, but in the second case embedded Western reporters offered a rebuttal. “The Iraqi government was nascent and weak and they offered no political cover for U.S. commanders to finish the operation in a reasonable time period. Without domestic Iraqi political support, offensive operations were halted after 5 days of combat. This stands in stark contrast to the second battle for Fallujah where the Iraqi Interim Government under Prime Minister Ayad Alawi ordered the Marines in and supported them through several weeks of combat. “Insurgents sometimes get lucky. The Abu Ghurayb scandal and the Shia uprising further enflamed a politically precarious situation and could not have happened at a worse time for Coalition forces. “In summary, several factors explain the difference in outcomes between Fallujah I and II. Longer shaping operations to evacuate civilians, control of the informational realm, more aggressive COIN operations in surrounding towns to protect Coalition MSRs, solid political backing from a more stable Iraqi government, and larger forces that contained a greater percentage of mechanized units to speed up the campaign all contributed to the relative success of Fallujah II (November 2004) versus the failure of Fallujah I. […]” November 19^th, 2004 - Fallujah Reconstruction Effort to Begin Soon Report by the American Forces Press Service November 15^th, 2004 - Fallujah Secure as Mop-up Operations Continue, Marine Officer Says Report by the American Forces Press Service November 14^th, 2004 - Coalition Fights to Destroy Remaining Fallujah Insurgents Report by the American Forces Press Service November 12^th, 2004 - Fallujah 80 Percent Under Coalition Control, General Says Report by the American Forces Press Service November 11^th, 2004 - Marine General: Fallujah Operations ‘Ahead of Schedule’ Report by the American Forces Press Service November 9^th, 2004 - Battle Continues ‘With Speed, Not Haste’ in Fallujah Report by the American Forces Press Service November 8^th, 2004 - ‘Operation Al Fajr’ Begins to Retake Fallujah Report by the American Forces Press Service

War Scenes from Falluja
Preparing the assault on Falluja		Two “liberators” and the dead				“Liberated” but dead: elderly man

Photo Credits Background 1) Man making ‘Shuhada’ sign-there is one God, because he knew he was about to be shot. - November 2004 - Dahr Jamail; War Scenes from Falluja 1) U.S. Marines of the 1^st Division take position on the outskirts of Fallujah. - November 8^th, 2004 - Associated Press; 2) US Marines from the 1st US Marines Expeditionary Force, 1^st Battalion, 3^rd Marines Regiment, Bravo Company pass by a dead body during the ground offensive in Fallujah, Iraq - November 9, 2004 - Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images; 3) Old man near wall - November 2004 - Dahr Jamail - The photos of Dahr Jamail are re-published with the permission of the author. More photos from Falluja can be found on Dahr Jamail’s MidEast Dispatches website.
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