Allawi warns Fallujah assault is near

By The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

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Allawi's warning, delivered in a nationally televised news conference, occurred as the United States moved 3,700 more troops into Iraq and American combat troops prepared for a showdown with thousands of militants reportedly holed up in Fallujah, the city that has become the focal point of armed resistance to the United States and its Iraqi allies.

Allawi appeared to be aiming to prepare the Iraqi public for an onslaught likely to unleash strong passions, especially among the country's Sunni Muslim minority.

He warned of civilian casualties, saying that if he orders an assault it would be with a "heavy heart," because "there will be some loss of innocent lives."

"But I owe, owe it to the Iraqi people to defend them from the violence and the terrorists and insurgents," he said.

A public outcry in Iraq against civilian casualties in April led the United States to stop an offensive against the city of 300,000 and pull out.

The U.S. military estimates there are about 5,000 armed insurgents in Fallujah. They've had six months to dig in.

Some may have slipped out of the city, as happened before U.S. forces recaptured the northern city of Tal Afar, but firefights on the perimeter of the city indicate others seem ready for a battle.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders want to put down guerrillas before national elections that are to be held by Jan. 31.

U.S. officials say Allawi will personally issue the final order to launch any all-out assault on Fallujah and other Sunni insurgent strongholds in the Sunni Triangle area north and west of the capital.

"We have now entered the final phase of attempts to solve Fallujah without a major military confrontation," Allawi said. "I hope we can achieve this, but if we cannot, I have no choice but to secure a military solution."
 
Allawi gave no deadline for talks with Fallujah city leaders to bear fruit, but he insisted they must hand over foreign fighters and allow Iraqi security forces to take control of the city.

The United States says Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may be in the city, but insurgents insist there are no foreign fighters there. Al-Zarqawi and his followers have claimed responsibility for numerous beheadings of foreigners and suicide car bombings.

The 3,700 fresh troops, a Louisiana-based National Guard unit, are in the Baghdad area, about 35 miles from Fallujah. Their arrival swells the U.S. force in Iraq to about 142,000, the most since the summer of 2003.

Yesterday, outside Fallujah, U.S. Marines prepared for an all-out assault, disassembling and cleaning weapons, stocking up on supplies, studying tactics and participating in numerous assault drills. The United States has been blasting the city with airstrikes and artillery for weeks.

"I've been waiting for this fight ever since I joined the Marines," said Staff Sgt. Dennis Nash, an 11-year Marine veteran whose platoon has been fine-tuning its skills. "This battle is going to be written about in history books. ... The terrorists who want to fight us are in that city, and we're going to get 'em."

U.S. troops are openly skeptical of any settlement. "The terrorists are barking up the wrong tree," said Cpl. Anibal Paz, a 21-year-old from Boston. "They're taking us on, and they won't be able to back it up."

For many, there is a feeling that any assault will complete a job abandoned in April when Marines were ordered to cut short the assault on Fallujah.

Commanders downplayed such motivation, however.

"It doesn't matter what happened in April," said Lt. Col. Gareth Brandl, who commands the 1st battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment. "There's an enemy (in Fallujah), and my men are ready to go in and destroy the enemy."

Military officials will not say how many troops are preparing, but the number of Marines this time is sure to exceed the fewer than 3,000 who participated in last April's operation. In addition, Army units and an unknown number of Iraqi troops are expected to participate.

Several thousand Iraqi police, national guardsmen and Army personnel are said to be poised to move into Fallujah to help maintain order if the Marines secure the city. Most are from outside of Fallujah, and thus immune from the intimidation and threats that contributed to the failure of the Fallujah Brigade, the special unit of Iraqi forces set up in April to help maintain the peace. Many turned out to be insurgents or sympathizers.

In addition, tens of millions of dollars in reconstruction funds may be spent on projects in Fallujah once the fighting stops. Marine lawyers are traveling with combat units, ready to handle compensation claims for battle damage.