The Latest From Iraq
For a detailed and inspiring first-person account of the battle of Fallujah, see Lt. Col. Dave Bellon's email home on The Green Side.
The Associated Press reports on the caches of arms that are still being uncovered in Fallujah:
Without providing details, Wilson called the amount of arms uncovered in Fallujah "stunning.""The amount of weapons was in no way just to protect a city," said Maj. Jim West, a Marine intelligence officer. "There was enough to mount an insurgency across the country."
A huge store of weapons and explosives was discovered at the mosque of Abdullah al-Janabi, a Muslim cleric and insurgent leader, according to a report on The New York Times' Web site. Al-Janabi is thought to have fled the city.
The Times said the mosque compound in a residential area had sheds stacked with TNT, mortar shells, bombs, guns, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition. A naval mine was in the street outside, it added.
Marines clearing houses in Fallujah have found Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, artillery shells and heavy-caliber cannon - with weapons caches often marked by a brick hanging by a string on homes' outside walls.
West said U.S. forces turned up a "cook book" with instructions on using mercury nitrate and silver nitrate and descriptions of nerve agents. He didn't elaborate.
The destruction of the terrorists' haven in Fallujah is having political as well as military fallout. Haider Ajina alerts us to breaking news on the principal Sunni political party, the Party of Islam, which has now reversed its decision to boycott January's election:
I just read this headline in the November 24th edition of the Iraqi Arab Daily newspaper “Iraq Lil Jamee” (Iraq for All).The English translation of the article is as follows:
The Party of Islam of Iraq (Sunni Party) after having announced that it will boycott the elections has changed its decision and now will participate in the elections. Mr. Abdul Hamid leader of the party said: "We had initially requested a postponement of the elections. Then we announced a boycott of the elections. We also said that these decisions were not final. Now we have decided to participate in the elections. We stand ready to negotiate with other Iraqi groups, parties and the Americans. We also condemn the kidnappings, killings, and car-bombings. We further condemn any action which threatens Iraqi police, Iraqi National Guard and any government official."My comments:
This is huge, titanic & tremendous. This was the last of the big hold out parties a Sunni religious extremist party. They have learned that in order to have power they must participate in the elections. They have called for the end of violence. I hope they will call for all Sunnis to participate in the elections.
Our vigil[ance] and tenacity is paying off. We must keep up the pressure, be strong and stay the course. We cannot relax till Iraq has its constitution and its first constitutional elections in 2006.
All of which goes to show, I think, that the best way to defeat the terrorists is to defeat the terrorists.
UPDATE: Iraqi troops have discovered a laboratory with chemical weapons manuals and as-yet-unidentified chemicals in Fallujah:
Iraqi troops searching suspected terrorist hideouts in Fallujah discovered a laboratory with manuals on how to manufacture explosives and toxins — including anthrax, Iraq's national security adviser said Thursday.Qassem Dawoud said the lab was found in the southwestern district of Fallujah, where pockets of insurgents are still holding out following the Nov. 8 assault by American and Iraqi forces.
"We also found in the laboratory manuals and instructions spelling out procedures for making explosives," he said. "They also spoke about making anthrax." Dawoud showed pictures of a shelf containing what he said were various chemicals.
