[Marxism] "Costly battles are taking place across Fallujah"

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fighting still hot in Fallujah


By SCOTT PETERSON


Date published: 11/26/2004


THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

FALLUJAH, IRAQ--The four insurgents were heavily outnumbered and
outgunned by U.S. Marines in Fallujah.

But armed with just assault rifles and grenades, the quartet locked an
entire company in intense battle for hours, inflicting casualties in
hand-to-hand combat and delivering a tough lesson for U.S. forces as
they deepen their hunt for an ephemeral and patient enemy that embraces
martyrdom.

The climax of the firefight late Monday night could not have been more
chaotic or more illuminating of the horrors of urban conflict.

When the team from Alpha Company finally entered the last redoubt of the
insurgents--a burning house that had already been hammered by rockets,
explosive charges and tank rounds--they had every reason to believe any
remaining gunmen were dead.

Instead, the point man, Lance Cpl. Richard Caseras, entered with his
team and ran into the spray of an insurgent's AK-47 assault rifle. A
second fighter then emerged, a pineapple grenade in each hand, with pins
already pulled.

Eyeball to eyeball with their opponents, the Marines shot them both
dead; the grenades fell to the ground and exploded, blasting the
Americans with shrapnel.

The result was a panicked war scene that could have been drawn from the
film "Apocalypse Now." In the eerie light of the roaring flames, the
wounded men were dragged back out to the street while Marines targeted
the house with steady gunfire.

In the end, one Marine was killed and at least nine were wounded. The
unit includes at least one Fredericksburg-area Marine, Cpl. Christopher
DeBlanc of Spotsylvania County.

U.S. commanders say that such costly battles are taking place across
Fallujah, where Marine and Army units launched an assault more than two
weeks ago in a bid to cut off the lethal insurgency that has spread
across Iraq.

The final blow came with heavy fire from a Spectre AC-130 gunship, which
destroyed four houses used by the insurgents with 40 howitzer shells.

The toll from a brutal night: one dead Marine and nine wounded,
including this correspondent, who was struck in the arm by a small piece
of shrapnel.


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