Troops see more strife in Ramadi

[Judi Lynn]

Sunday, November 14, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

Iraq Notebook
Troops see more strife in Ramadi


RAMADI, Iraq — As U.S. Marines and soldiers have blasted their way through Fallujah, another insurgent outpost has grown stronger 30 miles down the road in Ramadi.

Insurgent attacks on U.S. troops here have markedly intensified in the past two weeks, and enemy combatants are now conducting a more determined battle, commanders say.

"My personal take is that Ramadi is a less-publicized Fallujah, in the sense of the combat you face every time you go into town," said Capt. Ben Siebold, a company commander in an Army battalion. "In the time I've been here, the nature of the enemy has changed. He's more determined, more organized and a little bit better shot."
(snip)

"Ramadi is really out of control, and they needed another infantry battalion in the city," said Lt. Col. Justin Gubler, commander of the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry. Up to 150 foreign fighters are in the city, he said. "We've seen an increase in their proficiency and their will to fight."
(snip/...)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002090550_iraqdig14.html

[Randi_Listener]

1. Iraq is a fucking disaster.

It gets shittier by the goddamn minute.

[Wabbajack]

2. My father an Iraqi-American

was in Ramadi working as a translator. Man I am I glad he got back last month.

[maddezmom]

3. NYT Oct. 28 Provincial Capital Near Falluja Is Rapidly Slipping Into Chaos

AMADI, Iraq, Oct. 21 -The American military and the interim Iraqi government are quickly losing control of this provincial capital, which is larger and strategically more important than its sister city of Falluja, say local officials, clerics, tribal sheiks and officers with the United States Marines.

"The city is chaotic," said Sheik Ali al-Dulaimi, a leader of the region's largest tribe. "There's no presence of the Allawi government," he added, speaking of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

While Ramadi is not exactly a "no go" zone for the marines, like the insurgent stronghold of Falluja 30 miles to the east, officers say it is fast slipping in that direction. In the last six weeks, guerrillas have stepped up the pace of assassinations of Iraqis working with the Americans, and marine officials say they suspect Iraqi security officers have been helping insurgents to attack their troops. Reconstruction efforts have ground to a halt because no local contractors are willing to work.

Most of the military's resources are channeled into controlling a bomb-infested, four-and-a-half-mile stretch of road that runs through downtown and connects two bases. Insurgents pop out of alleyways, mosques and a crowded market and fire at marines at will, then disappear when the Americans give chase.

Ramadi lies at the heart of rebellious Anbar Province and astride the major western supply route to Baghdad. The city, whose 400,000 residents have at best merely tolerated the foreign military presence, is seen as a crucial part of American efforts to plant a secular democracy in Iraq. But the disintegration of authority puts in jeopardy both the Bush administration's plan to stage nationwide elections by Jan. 31 and any sense of legitimacy such elections might have. It also complicates the American military's plans to invade Falluja, because of the close coordination between insurgents in the two cities.
more: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/28/international/middleeast/28ramadi.html?ex=1100581200&en=c3298d76b0acac1b&ei=5070&oref=login&hp&ex=1098936000&en=bc48eb69af4d1e7c&ei=5094&partner=homepage