powerclown

I do, yes. Its been 6 months that the Coalition has had to gather intelligence and satellite recon, so I believe the situation is well understood by all parties involved. Its a simple strategy: wrest control out of the hands of the insurgents, deny them their sanctuary, destroy their command & control structure (which is believed to be based in Fallujah), put the town back under the authority of the Iraqi Government, stop civilian intimidation and allow for popular election. What is unfortunate is that this should have been done back during the War in 2003; its just going to make things that much harder and bloodier now, as the insurgents have had time to dig in and fortify their defenses.

Hi-Resolution Map of Fallujah (3.7mb)

The Operation is now fully underway.

In April, Coalition Forces tried to take Fallujah from the SE. This time they are entering from the NW, based on a peninsula lying West of the Euphrates. Two bridges (one of them the same bridge where insurgents had strung up the mutilated US contractors) and a hospital have been secured; the most dangerous sector of Fallujah is considered the Jolan District in the NW quarter of the city, which might explain the new incursion point. The Campaign will be in three phases: Phase I: Shaping the Battlespace, Phase II: Ground Assault, Phase III: Exploitation, Pursuit, Reconstruction.

British forces of the Black Watch have moved to positions east of the Euphrates, at the request of US military commanders, in order to "stop reinforcements moving north and block the way of insurgents leaving the city."