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Originally Posted by smooth
Powerclown,
two of us now have pointed out that all the men were engaged with the US military (either directly fighting or hunkering down on the receiving end) and the women/children fled to even worse conditions.
Do you deny that occurred or could you explain how that reality will translate into positive interaction with the US invasion? I see that you have addressed the fact that the majority of thugs and insurgents have now moved on leaving a power vacuum that might be used positively, but please address who is going to be wanting or able to fill that vacuum given who was left behind in the city and the negative feelings those who fled are likely to have about US intervention.
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Yes I deny this occurred, are you kidding? The population of that town was 300,000. Are you saying that every man in the city of fighting age out of 300,000 people was an insurgent fighting the Americans? That would mean tens of thousands of insurgents in battle.
Again, I will say that its up to the Iraqis whether they want a city of law and order, or a lawless city run by gangs. The latter scenario is incompatible in a democratic system, where a centralized ruling government needs to be in control of its cities to be in control of its country. What this campaign did was show the people of Fallujah that its now possible to live in peace, without fear of intimidation. Ideally, they will now have a say in who runs their city. The Americans will rebuild the city better than it originally was.