 "Photo:")
WASHINGTON - The top U.S. commander in Iraq on Monday predicted a "major confrontation" on the streets of Fallujah as a U.S.-led force of as many as 15,000 troops pressed to retake control of the Sunni Muslim city.
Gen. George Casey said that the offensive, which began on Sunday, was proceeding on schedule and that he expected the insurgents to use homemade roadside bombs and car bombs as their "weapon of choice."
As the fighting raged in Iraq, Casey said in a conference call with reporters at the Pentagon that the 50-to-70 percent of the city's roughly 200,000 people had left, meaning there could be as many as 100,000 people still there. Some insurgents managed to slip away, he said, while others "have moved in."
Casey was asked if he had enough troops for the operation. "We absolutely do," he said. "If I came across a situation where I needed more troops, I will ask for them."
Casey described the Iraqi rebels as "an amorphous group of terrorists and insurgents" and said not one single group appeared to be in change.
"The Iraqi people are fighting to throw off the mantle of terror and intimidation, so that they can elect their own government and get on with building a better life for all Iraqis," he said. "The elimination of Fallujah as a terrorist safe haven will go a long way toward those goals."
Casey said U.S. troops had secured a hospital used as a staging area by Sunni insurgents and two bridges across the Euphrates River. One of the bridges was where Iraqis hung the charred bodies of at least two of four American contractors last March.Both the bridges and the hospital are on a peninsula.
He refused to give a specific count or breakdown of the U.S. and Iraqi forces involved in the operation but said 10,000 to 15,000 was "in the ballpark."
Casey said there were "a good number of Iraqi battalions involved in this operation." He said that more battalions would be involved in the fighting in Fallujah than the two battalions involved in Najaf last summer and the five used in recent fighting in Samarra.
Forces from Britain's Black Watch battalion were participating, working along the west bank of the Euphrates River to disrupt any insurgent movement between Baghdad and Fallujah, Casey said.
U.S. forces, coalition forces and Iraqi forces will do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties, Boucher said. "The Iraqi government is determined to deal with the situation of lawlessness that existed in Fallujah and a few other towns," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
In a series of telephone calls, Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed the foreign ministers of Poland, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan about the military operation.
"He's calling countries that are obviously concerned about the situation," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
U.S. forces, coalition forces and Iraqi forces will do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties, Boucher said. "The Iraqi government is determined to deal with the situation of lawlessness that existed in Fallujah and a few other towns," he said.
In response to reports that Javier Solana, the senior European Community diplomat, was skeptical of going through with elections in January in an unsettled environment, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said "we are working closely with the Iraqi forces to bring about a security enviornment so that elections can be held."
And Boucher said both the United States and Iraq are very strong in wanting to have the elections held on time.
Casey predicted that insurgent fighters now positioned on the outskirts of the city "will probably fall back toward the center of the city, where there will probably be a major confrontation."
Be the first to comment on this article!