FALLUJAH THE KEY TO A SAFER IRAQ
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Fallujah's days as a
breeding ground for terrorists may be about to end — and not a moment too soon.
Iraq Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has warned Fallujah's leaders he would order
an attack if they do not turn over foreign terrorists led by Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant tied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist
group.
This hardening of policy on Fallujah is long overdue. Home to roughly
300,000 predominantly Sunni Arabs, the city has become a sanctuary for a motley
collection of foreign terrorists, homegrown Islamic militants, diehard
Ba'athists and tribally based insurgent groups.
An earlier
offensive spearheaded by U.S. Marines was called off last April when members of
the former Iraqi Governing Council objected to the prospect of a prolonged
American siege.
Instead, the Governing Council proposed a stillborn agreement with
Fallujah's leaders that included establishing a local militia ostensibly to
restore the rule of law. The militia, led by former members of Saddam Hussein's
Ba'ath Party, soon melted away after the threat of an American offensive was
removed. Many members defected to antigovernment insurgents. Fallujah became a
strategic base and staging area for terrorist attacks in Baghdad and surrounding
areas.
The insurgents, emboldened by their success in Fallujah, have escalated a
campaign of intimidation, kidnappings and assassinations to undermine and
demoralize the embryonic Iraqi government. In recent months, they beheaded
several government officials and released videotapes of these acts. The governor
of Anbar Province was humiliated and forced to resign after three of his sons
were kidnapped and threatened with death. Other government officials succumbed
to intimidation and defected to the rebels, including the Ramadi police chief,
who had survived three assassination attempts.
A Talibanlike regime has
seized control of Fallujah and imposed a harsh brand of sharia (Islamic law) on
the people there. A radical Iraqi Sunni cleric, Abdallah al-Janabi, has declared
himself to be the "emir" (prince or leader) of the "Islamic Republic of
Fallujah." Much like Mullah Omar, who declared himself emir of Afghanistan,
Janabi works closely with foreign terrorists. He has allied with Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (Unity and
Holy War), which has close links to al Qaeda.
Al-Zarqawi's Tawhid group has carried out dozens of terrorist bombings in
Iraq and assassinated scores of government officials. Tawhid also is responsible
for many American deaths.
Zarqawi has recruited an unknown number (perhaps several hundred) of foreign
Arabs to fight in Iraq and remains one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in
the world. If allowed to operate freely from Fallujah, al-Zarqawi's group will
pose a mounting threat not only to Iraqis, Americans, coalition forces and
foreign civilians inside Iraq, but also to targets outside Iraq.
Fallujah has become a symbol
of resistance to transforming Iraq into a stable democracy. As long as it
remains a sanctuary for foreign terrorists and Iraqi insurgents, it will be
impossible to secure and stabilize the rest of Iraq.
After backing away from a full-fledged assault last April, the United States
has maintained pressure on insurgents in Fallujah through air strikes on their
bases and safe houses. This apparently has led to growing friction between
foreign militants and local residents angry at the risks they are forced to bear
due to the provocations of the foreign Arabs.
Prime Minister Allawi realizes this — hence his ultimatum. And after the
successful Oct. 1 offensive in Samarra by U.S. and government forces, Mr. Allawi
has more leverage to apply.
Government forces must stay on the offensive to tilt the psychological field
against the insurgents, keep them off balance, and disrupt their plans for
future attacks.
We're also at the beginning of Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic calendar
in which Islamic extremists have in the past often chosen to launch attacks.
There is a good chance Iraqi insurgents may seek to launch a Tet-like offensive
to undermine the Iraqi government and coalition forces inside Iraq.
The United
States should strongly back Mr. Allawi's efforts to rout the insurgency in
Fallujah. This time the Marines, backed by the Iraqi army and National Guard,
should complete their mission and relentlessly root out the insurgents as
rapidly as possible. We need to avoid another halfhearted encirclement and a
pullback that leaves hostile forces in control. Otherwise, the Fallujah
insurgency is likely to metastasize into a cancer that will kill any hope for a
stable Iraq.
James Phillips is a research fellow in Middle Eastern affairs at the
Heritage Foundation.