oldreliable67
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Very few are unaware of the battles that have taken place in Fallujah. The torture rooms, weapons caches and bomb factories found there attested to its reputation as an extremist/AQI stronghold. Controversy surrounded both the first and second battles of Fallujah: among other themes, critics accused the US of war crimes and brutality, while supporters pointed to the efforts at avoiding civilian casualties and incontrovertible evidence of the heavy presence of AQI. But we don't hear nearly as much about Fallujah today; the MSM mentions Fallujah rarely, as compared to a year or so ago. Why is that?
One reason might be the success of the joint US/IA/IP operations there. The following excerpt from a Captain's Journal interview with a Marine LTC in Fallujah provides some insight:
Take special note of the comment, "We also give the people a serious reason to stay on this side of the fence - we call it the “What’s in it for me?” program." For certain, it ain't over, and there will be periods of doubt and events suggesting uncertainty about the future. Nonetheless, in the overall scheme of these things, successful counter-insurgency campaigns build success from the ground up, just like these Marines are doing.
One reason might be the success of the joint US/IA/IP operations there. The following excerpt from a Captain's Journal interview with a Marine LTC in Fallujah provides some insight:
[emphasis added]TCJ: It appears that the transition to nonkinetic operations was fairly stark. Press reports about combat operations stopped and press reports about construction of police precincts started. In a professional military academic climate that claims that standard counterinsurgency takes ten to twelve years, how did the Marines of 2/6 manage to pull this off?
Lt. Col. Mullen: We got the citizens of the city involved in providing their own security through the neighborhood watch system. We pay them a pittance of $50 a month (only a part time job as an extra set of eyeballs for the police - they are not police) and we authorize them to carry a weapon if they have one for their own protection. As I said above, the result has been a 300% decrease in enemy attacks. We also give the people a serious reason to stay on this side of the fence - we call it the “What’s in it for me?” program. We have a heavy civil affairs emphasis that is changing the face of Fallujah. In addition to the essential infrastructure improvements noted above, we are hiring them to pick up rubble and garbage, to paint cement barriers and school walls with murals (negates graffiti) and we are putting them to work in every way we can think of so they can put food on the table for their families. Progress has been astounding and whenever we measure atmospherics (several times a week) all indications are that we are having a tremendous amount of success. We have tied all of this to the improvements in the security situation and we tell them that if they want it to continue, then the enemy has the be driven out completely and kept out. They understand and are providing a great deal more tips than they used to. The enemy has not been able to do much of anything of late and we just passed the three month mark without having a single casualty from this battalion as a result of enemy action. That is unheard of in Fallujah.
Take special note of the comment, "We also give the people a serious reason to stay on this side of the fence - we call it the “What’s in it for me?” program." For certain, it ain't over, and there will be periods of doubt and events suggesting uncertainty about the future. Nonetheless, in the overall scheme of these things, successful counter-insurgency campaigns build success from the ground up, just like these Marines are doing.