Marines Prepared, Trained for Iraq Mission, Says Commander, By Donna Miles
Otis Willie
Miles
(EXCERPT) American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2004 -- Although the rules of engagement
specifically identify mosques as protected structures, Iraqi
insurgents forfeited that protection when they used a mosque in
central Fallujah, Iraq, April 7 to launch attacks on U.S. forces, the
commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade told
reporters at Camp Pendleton, Calif., today.
Marine Maj. Gen. Keith Stalder said that when a platoon-size group of
enemy forces occupied the mosque and the grounds immediately
surrounding it and fired on Marines, that mosque lost the protection
of the law of war. At that point, Stalder said, the Marines' right to
defend themselves became the most important issue.
"If anybody shoots at us from a mosque, then we are going to do what
we need to do to protect ourselves," he said.
Stalder said the Marines subdued and suppressed the enemy operating
from the mosque, killing at least one.
During the firefight, in which the Marines called in an air strike
that took out a wall surrounding the mosque, Stalder said the Marines
made every effort to minimize damage inflicted. "But once we do return
fire or engage, we minimize the damage to the degree that we can, and
we ensure that the response is proportional to the threat."
Stalder said that once security is established, the Marines will
return to help the local citizens there rebuild any damage -- not only
from this most recent combat activity, but also from earlier neglect
during the Saddam Hussein regime.
The Marines are making steady headway in Iraq, "winning on the ground
in our area of operation, " Stalder said. "Where we operate, we are
doing the job, we are performing our mission, killing the bad guys and
making life better for the average Iraqi people in the western part of
Iraq."
He said the Marines, many of whom served in Iraq during the county's
liberation, are trained, equipped and prepared to deal with whatever
enemy resistance they encounter. "We went fully prepared to engage and
kill the enemy wherever they chose to fight and we are doing that
right now," he said. "We are winning every firefight we engage in."
Stalder credited the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, which previously
served in the Marines' area of operation, with doing "a magnificent
job" and in making a smooth transition of authority to the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force.
The general said he feels confident that the Marines have the proper
number and mix of forces to accomplish their mission, but that his
staff on the ground will reassess the situation regularly. "I am very
comfortable that we have everything we need right now," Stalder said.
He said no discussion is under way involving the extension of Marines'
deployments in Iraq, most of which now extend about seven months.
For now, Stalder said the Marines' mission in Iraq remains basically
the same as during the past deployment: "to conduct security
operations, kill or capture the bad guys who threaten that, and help
the local Iraqis rebuild their lives, their government and their
country."
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2004/n04082004_200404087.html
---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com
Eugene Kent
forces that Bush ear marked for this little foray.
"Otis Willie" <americanw...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
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