Myers: Ex-Saddam General Not in Charge in Falluja

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gen. Jasim Mohamed Saleh, a former general in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s elite Republican Guard, is not likely to take charge in the volatile Iraqi city of Falluja and is still being vetted for a possible peacekeeping role, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sunday.


Reuters Photo



"There's another general they're looking at," Myers told ABC's This Week. "My guess is, it will not be General Saleh. It will not -- he will not be their leader. ... He may have a role to play, but that vetting has yet to take place."


Myers did not respond to a question on Fox News Sunday on whether Saleh, a former general in Saddam's elite Republican Guard, had been involved with the brutal suppression of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Kurdish minority, but he reiterated that Saleh was not in command of the forces inside Falluja.


"The reporting to date has been ... very, very inaccurate," Gen. Richard B. Myers told Fox News. "We've gotten a lot of help from tribal sheiks and other folks."

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&e=3&u=/nm/20040502/ts_nm/iraq_falluja_general_dc_3

Nice way to immediately piss off the Iraqi officers. I read, in another thread, that General Saleh had issued a statement about the lack of foreign fighters in Fallujah. Furthermore, he stated that he had spoken with tribal leaders in the area and been reassured that there never were anby foreign fighters. Sounds like he made some statements that Dickie boy didn't like, so Saleh will be marginalized. Too bad he has already made some inroads into the community, and is probably more popular in Fallujah than the Viceroy or his moron sidekick. I predict that Saleh will not respond favorably to Dickie boys announcement, and we will be back to fighting the Republican Guard before you can say Jack Robinson (sorry, Mr. Kipling).

perhaps he pissed off the military when he out holes in the theory of foreign fighters.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x524955

and I have been fighting with a spam program all morning. I will find the original program today if it takes me all day!

Great. That's one group of Iraqis we actually know how to beat.

I always thought that they disappeared too quickly. I suspect that we are opening Pandora's Box to an infiltration of former Republican Guard forces that will turn on us, just as the Saudi security folks turned on the American 'contractors' after winning their confidence. It is really an old ploy, but effective.

You think a lot of these coordinated attacks over the past year have been by untrained Iraqi resistance fighters? We beat their armor on the battlefield and any dumb enough to fight us head-on, but the majority of their numbers seem to have disappeared into the cities to continue the fight against us.

Perhaps Gen. Myers should distribute some clear guidelines to his commanders in the field about what and when to say regarding the disastrous situation in Falluja. Simple talking points, really, just so that everybody is on the same page and American officers don't look like lying sacks of shit up and down the chain of command.

How can this dolt say Saleh hasn't been vetted yet when the Marine in charge said a couple of days ago that he was? If Saleh is not in charge or vetted, why was he allowed to very publicly lead ICDC troops into the city? Why is there such a disconnect between the military's political leadership and its leaders in the field? Are these public inconsistencies indicative of larger problems within our military that might affect the effectiveness of combat operations and the safety of our trooops?

Unfortunately, the corporate media fails again in its public mission by not pointing out these inconsistencies.

I would like to know how Myers knows diddly about the
disposition of forces and command in Faloojah? What
are the forces in Faloojah, and who do they report to?
Do they report to anyone? Most importantly, is their
any reason at all to think that they would not shoot
Myers on sight, let alone take HIS orders?

and are probably thinking that after a regroup, the Imperial US command will regret having stepped on the toes of the former Republican Guard. Think about the attacks this morning in Saudi Arabia. The shooters had work beside those that they shot, and gained their confidence. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, they turned around and blew them away. I look for the same thing to happen in Iraq.

I have read stories to the effect that RG
officers were running the resistance, and
certainly the level of organization and
tactical effectiveness displayed is
consistent with that.

BAGHDAD, May 2 (Reuters) - Washington risks plunging Iraq into further chaos by employing Saddam Hussein generals to appease an anti-U.S. insurgency, Iraqi leaders once in the forefront of opposition to the ousted dictator said on Sunday.

U.S. forces turned to General Jasim Mohamed Saleh, who headed a battalion in the disbanded Republican Guards, and another Sunni Muslim general for help in pacifying Falluja after U.S. forces besieged the city west of Baghdad for nearly a month.

U.S. military leaders insist, however, Saleh has not been given control of Falluja.

While acknowledging that Saleh, from the Sunni Muslim Dulaimi tribe, could help calm Falluja, politicians and Governing Council members said Iraq would become more unstable in the longer run as the United States puts defeated Baath Party members back in senior positions.
~snip~
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/OWE235315.htm

I can understand SCIRI being annoyed,
they do not have the initiative here.

Do we know WTF is going on?

~snip~
The decision by Marines in Fallujah to cede power to a former regime figure surprised officials in Washington and Baghdad. But according to Marine commanders on the ground, political niceties have been sacrificed to battlefield pragmatism.

After three weeks of fierce fighting in which up to 800 people have died, the Marines have reluctantly decided they have neither the local knowledge nor credibility to tackle the 2,000 or so militants still holding out there. Saleh's force, known as the Fallujah Protective Army, is "an Iraqi solution to an Iraqi problem," according to Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne. "They know the populace. They know the terrain."
~snip~
Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway, the top U.S. commander in Fallujah, told a news conference on Saturday that the new Fallujah Protective Army probably will include some former army soldiers who fought American forces over the past month. He promised, however, that anyone who has "blood on their hands" would not be allowed to stay in the force.

By the occupation's previous criteria, Saleh is unfit to be in charge of Iraq's security.

He was raised in the towns around Fallujah that provided much of the manpower for Hussein's army and security services. He still sports the fat walrus mustache that was standard wear for Hussein's senior military acolytes, and he was also a level two Baath Party member -- the second highest category, designating a position of power and privilege normally earned by paying more than mere lip service to the former president.

~snip~

more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/02/MNG6J6EIBO1.DTL


Gee wonder why the repoting is so f'd up....

The disconnect between the political upper level of the military command and the commanders on the ground is extremely disturbing. The fact that it happens so openly is likely indicative of even deeper problems.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x524084


It should read Pentagon has no freaking clue about what the hell is going on in Iraq.

Really.

We siege Fallujah for nearly 4 weeks, loosing a majority of the 145 troops in the month of April in fallujah...

Only to "reposition" (read: withdraw)

Place one of Saddam's ex-generals of the Republican Guard in power...

Only to remove him a day later when he begins speaking truth...

We did not place him in power, we just let him walk in
with some troops.

We have not removed him, he's still there just like before.

Taking down the name of volunteers for the army he is not in charge of in the city he is not in charge of.

Seems like he has already found his role, but indeed, it may not be fo peacekeeping, if they won't let him ...

We sure as hell don't know what's going on. Do we just wander around creating military units from hardcore Baathists at the drop of a beret just to get our asses out of a trap? That's what it looks like. Can we bumble any more? This is amateurish.

We are in a pissing contest with the residents of Fallujah. Why? Because our guvmint announced that it would assert its authority and go into Fallujah at will, to restore "order" and arrest or kill "the terrorists." So they fought back. Now we can't pull out, or we look weak.

On the other hand, our guvmint announced a "truce," but did not mention that it was between us and the leaders of the city. who had no power to agree to any truce with us because they weren't the ones fighting.

Following this line, we announced that the truce would last a while, to give the insurgents time to turn in their guns and surrender. Yeah, right. Only a fool would turn in his weapons when he has been offered nothing, and everything he has gained has come from using those weapons.

So now we hire General Saleh. Our savior. He comes to work in the uniform of the presumed-defunt Saddam military. Huge crowds cheer him. Fallujans come outside - some for the first time since the seige began.

His job? To restore "order," and arrest or kill "the terrorists." Ummmm... Isn't this the same deal as before, just with a Saddam Hussein face on it? Last year, wasn't Saleh one of the "terrorists?" When did this change?

This is disastrous. Gen Saleh is not going to accomplish what the Marines could not. Yes, they cheer him now. Why not? He represents a temporary return to the familiar - the pride and sovereignty of Iraq appears to have reappeared. But when he comes a'callin with the same rap about killing or capturing terrorists, he isn't going to get any farther than the Marines.

Now they say he isn't really in charge. Who the hell can make sense of this nonsense? Give the people a hero and then take him away? No good. Give the people a hero, and then expect him to go in with guns blazing - where the Marines failed? Nope.

What next? Will they trot Saddam out to plea for order? Cooperation? Surrender of the weapons that the insurgents ain't givin' up till hell freezes over? What a mess!

~snip~
The official said Mohammed Latif would lead the Falluja Brigade, subject to checks on his background.

A first battalion of the brigade is currently operating under the command of General Jassim Mohammed Saleh.

~snip~

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=IZKQFDB5FG2LSCRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=5011901