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Today's Topics:

1. NYT: Marines' alternative approach was doomed from the start
(Michael Pollak)
2. Re: A Very American Occupation (new Gallup poll) (Doug Henwood)
3. OFFLIST Re: [lbo-talk] NYT: Marines' alternative approach was
doomed from thestart (Grant Lee)
4. TV station owner orders affiliate not to run Nightline
(Doug Henwood)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 12:37:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Pollak <mpollak@panix.com>
Subject: [lbo-talk] NYT: Marines' alternative approach was doomed from
the start
To: lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.58.0404291234510.10412@panix2.panix.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII


[The NYT article attached below fills in a lot of little holes, and one
big one: it explains in one sentence why the Marines, who supposedly
trained for months to introduce a gentler kinder counterinsurgency
strategy, were so ready within a week to scrap it all and go back to the
policy of the iron fist (excuse me "Iron Grip"). Mattis, the division's
commander says it was always his plan to precede the soft approach with a
short hard attack that showed Fallujah who was boss:

Before showing their "velvet glove" approach, however, the Marines also
wanted insurgents to feel their mailed fist. "We will move precisely
against the enemy elements and crush them without harming the
innocent," General Mattis said in his [email] message [to the
reporter].

[Hence the whole soft approach hinged on this part going perfectly. It
seems never to have occurred to them that it might not, which is quite a
grave flaw in the plan. What seems to have happened is that the Marines
made their initial mailed fist patrols, got strong counter-reactions, got
pissed, and then the next week, the four contractors got killed -- and on
many accounts, the death of the four contractors was intended and received
as a direct response to the killing of Fallujans by Marines the week
before. So the marines then reverted to SOP, all mailed fist all the
time. But given the big flaw in their initial two-step plan -- Step one:
hit them in the face and presume they'll just sit there and take it *and
then their neighbors will look forward to working with you* -- it looks
like their unplanned Plan B, all fist all the time, was always by far the
most likely outcome.]

[If we now get back to the original softer approach -- if the Marines are
prevented from going in, when they now giving every sign of champing at
the bit -- it looks like it won't be the Marines that brought it about,
but rather that the political authorities imposed it on them. The Marines
presumably still have the resources, the training (and maybe the facial
hair), although presumably the gung-ho attitude and optimism about it
wroking are seriously frayed. It seems clear that idea that it should be
preceded with random hard strikes for the pure purposes of demonstrating
toughness was a bad one that set it seriously backwards.]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/international/middleeast/28SIEG.html

The New York Times
April 28, 2004

NEWS ANALYSIS

The Siege of Falluja, a Test in a Tinderbox

By ERIC SCHMITT

W ASHINGTON, April 27 The siege in Falluja is a case study in mistaken
assumptions, dashed hopes, rivalry between the Army and the Marine
Corps, and a tragedy that became a trigger, Pentagon officials, senior
officers and independent military analysts said Tuesday.

The chain of decisions leading to the standoff that has made the city
of nearly 300,000 people in the Sunni heartland a symbol of the
insurgency also illustrates conflicting military strategies and
shifting political aims. The fate of Falluja has become a possible
harbinger for all of Iraq.

Some critics say the immediate showdown is a result of the Marines'
overreaction to the killing and mutilation of four American private
security contractors on March 31. "They've gone to the sledgehammer
approach," said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution. Even before the contractors' deaths, however, the marines
ran into sporadic but stiff resistance last month as they took over
responsibility for the area from departing Army soldiers. Marine
commanders defended their response, which was to throw a cordon of
troops, tanks and artillery around the city, try to avoid civilian
casualties and prepare for an urban battle to root out some 2,000
insurgents.

In recent days, commanders have said they are taking great pains to
avoid an all-out attack. "Every attempt will be made to solve the
problem peacefully before resorting to a military offensive against
terrorists inside the city," Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, the top Marine
general in Iraq, said in an e-mail message.

Dealing with Falluja has gone from strictly a military matter for
commanders in Iraq to a broader political debate involving President
Bush and his top national security aides in Washington, who have
voiced concerns that images of fierce fighting in Falluja will stir
uprisings throughout Iraq and outrage throughout the Arab world.

Some Marine commanders grumble that the stop-and-start negotiations
are giving insurgents more time to restock and refortify their
defenses, putting marines' lives at risk and postponing what they say
is an inevitable American attack.

The decision to delay any immediate offensive into Falluja is still
very tenuous, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. Military commanders are
unwilling to accept the status quo, while intelligence suggests that
backing off would encourage a new generation of opposition, and
postpone big problems until closer to the transfer to Iraqi
sovereignty on June 30. There is little sign that resistance is
weakening.

If there is any glimmer of hope for a negotiated settlement, American
and Iraqi civilian authorities are eager to grasp it. But the idea of
sending joint American-Iraqi patrols deep into the city has been put
off several times, since American commanders said Tuesday that the
Iraqi forces who were being asked to take part were not yet capable of
doing so without putting themselves and the marines at risk.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that "if at some
point the military decides that the string has run out, then they will
tell us that and take appropriate action."

"Now, does that mean that something can't be worked out?" he
continued. "No, I wouldn't say that, or else we wouldn't be where we
are."

The standoff in Falluja has been building for more than a year.
American units have come and gone so often in this hotbed of Sunni
resistance that they have had little time to understand their
surroundings. Falluja was initially occupied last year by the 82nd
Airborne Division, which was soon replaced by the Third Armored
Cavalry, which in turn was replaced by a brigade of the Army's Third
Infantry Division. Last summer, the Third Infantry handed the town
back to the Third Armored Cavalry, which was soon replaced by the 82nd
Airborne Division. Last month, the marines replaced the 82nd Airborne.

By December, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., the division's
commander, spoke of being on a "glide path" to victory over the
insurgents, at least in Al Anbar Province, in western Iraq. By
February, the 82nd Airborne had largely pulled back from patrolling
Falluja, putting more responsibility in the hands of the Iraqi Civil
Defense Corps and the Iraqi police. But in early April, those Iraqi
forces largely folded under fire.

Although reluctant to criticize the Army publicly, the marines
replacing the 82nd Airborne said the Army's practice of staying out of
town allowed the security situation in Falluja to fester. For weeks,
General Conway and other Marine commanders had boasted they would
shift tactics to work more closely with local people, to gain their
trust, and, in the process, glean intelligence about insurgents'
locations. This strategy drew on the Marine Corps' "Small Wars"
manual, which derives from their 20th-century interventions in Central
America.

Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, the First Marine Division commander,
reminded his forces in a message as they arrived last month that he
had added the warning, "Do no harm," to the unit's motto of "No better
friend, no worse enemy." Before showing their "velvet glove" approach,
however, the Marines also wanted insurgents to feel their mailed fist.
"We will move precisely against the enemy elements and crush them
without harming the innocent," General Mattis said in his message.

Almost immediately after taking over from the Army, marines came under
fire. A convoy was ambushed. Patrols pushing into town for the first
time in weeks were met with mortar and rocket fire, and had to pull
back. Then the four contractors from Blackwater U.S.A. were killed.

"Certainly the reason we went into Falluja included the killing of the
four contractors, but Falluja was not a garden paradise before then,"
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief spokesman for the American military
command, said Tuesday. "Falluja has been a problem, a significant
problem for the coalition and for Iraqi security forces for many, many
months."

In the Pentagon's view, Falluja was boiling. There had been 27 attacks
on occupation forces, Iraqi security sites or American administration
targets in the three weeks before the Blackwater killings. Because of
that, planning was already under way to go in and clean out insurgents
in Falluja.

The planning was accelerated after the Blackwater attack because those
killings were viewed by the Pentagon and local commanders as
premeditated, and the population cheered indicating the dangerous
political effect of allowing a Falluja-based insurgency to remain.

Some Army officers said marines had stirred up a hornet's nest without
responding swiftly and forcefully enough. "The threat in the Al Anbar
Province was flat out afraid of the 82nd paratroopers," said one Army
officer who served near Falluja.

But Maj. Kevin Collins, a Marine operations officer in Falluja, put
the Marines' attitude this way, "If you chose to pick a fight, we'll
finish it."

Thom Shanker contributed reporting from Washington for this article,
John F. Burns from Baghdad and John Kifner from Falluja.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy |
Search | Corrections | Help | Back to Top


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 12:55:51 -0400
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood@panix.com>
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] A Very American Occupation (new Gallup poll)
To: lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org
Message-ID: <p05200f00bcb6e40351e1@[192.168.0.196]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

John Lacny wrote:

>Munson:
>
>> I think you meant this message for Lacny
>
>Etymologically, I've been told that "lacny" means "hungry" or
>"cheap" in a number of Slavic languages. (Though, while it's a
>well-known if not common name among Poles, it apparently means
>nothing in Polish -- it's just a name. Help me out here, Wojtek).
>Hence I like Doug's free advertising.
>
>In all seriousness, though, if people want me to cut-and-paste my
>blog posts, that's fine. I don't see why just forwarding a URL
>should be a problem, though.

I don't mind when advertisers participate. When advertising becomes a
substitute for participation, I feel used.

Doug


------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 00:59:32 +0800
From: "Grant Lee" <grantlee@iinet.net.au>
Subject: OFFLIST Re: [lbo-talk] NYT: Marines' alternative approach was
doomed from thestart
To: <lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org>
Message-ID: <033a01c42e0b$58d839a0$9ec43bcb@01955102>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi Michael,

My Dad, who likes reading WW2 histories, keeps saying "I can't believe they
would use the US Marines in a situation like that" (i.e. Fallujah). He's
right of course; as I've said before, the USMC is the virtual antithesis of
light infantry (although the Marine Scouts are an exception). But, as we
know, the relatively few light infantry forces that the US has are mostly
tied up elsewhere.

regards,

Grant.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Pollak" <mpollak@panix.com>
To: <lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org>
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 12:37 AM
Subject: [lbo-talk] NYT: Marines' alternative approach was doomed from
thestart


>
> [The NYT article attached below fills in a lot of little holes, and one
> big one: it explains in one sentence why the Marines, who supposedly
> trained for months to introduce a gentler kinder counterinsurgency
> strategy, were so ready within a week to scrap it all and go back to the
> policy of the iron fist (excuse me "Iron Grip"). Mattis, the division's
> commander says it was always his plan to precede the soft approach with a
> short hard attack that showed Fallujah who was boss:
>
> Before showing their "velvet glove" approach, however, the Marines also
> wanted insurgents to feel their mailed fist. "We will move precisely
> against the enemy elements and crush them without harming the
> innocent," General Mattis said in his [email] message [to the
> reporter].
>
> [Hence the whole soft approach hinged on this part going perfectly. It
> seems never to have occurred to them that it might not, which is quite a
> grave flaw in the plan. What seems to have happened is that the Marines
> made their initial mailed fist patrols, got strong counter-reactions, got
> pissed, and then the next week, the four contractors got killed -- and on
> many accounts, the death of the four contractors was intended and received
> as a direct response to the killing of Fallujans by Marines the week
> before. So the marines then reverted to SOP, all mailed fist all the
> time. But given the big flaw in their initial two-step plan -- Step one:
> hit them in the face and presume they'll just sit there and take it *and
> then their neighbors will look forward to working with you* -- it looks
> like their unplanned Plan B, all fist all the time, was always by far the
> most likely outcome.]
>
> [If we now get back to the original softer approach -- if the Marines are
> prevented from going in, when they now giving every sign of champing at
> the bit -- it looks like it won't be the Marines that brought it about,
> but rather that the political authorities imposed it on them. The Marines
> presumably still have the resources, the training (and maybe the facial
> hair), although presumably the gung-ho attitude and optimism about it
> wroking are seriously frayed. It seems clear that idea that it should be
> preceded with random hard strikes for the pure purposes of demonstrating
> toughness was a bad one that set it seriously backwards.]
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/international/middleeast/28SIEG.html
>
> The New York Times
> April 28, 2004
>
> NEWS ANALYSIS
>
> The Siege of Falluja, a Test in a Tinderbox
>
> By ERIC SCHMITT
>
> W ASHINGTON, April 27 The siege in Falluja is a case study in mistaken
> assumptions, dashed hopes, rivalry between the Army and the Marine
> Corps, and a tragedy that became a trigger, Pentagon officials, senior
> officers and independent military analysts said Tuesday.
>
> The chain of decisions leading to the standoff that has made the city
> of nearly 300,000 people in the Sunni heartland a symbol of the
> insurgency also illustrates conflicting military strategies and
> shifting political aims. The fate of Falluja has become a possible
> harbinger for all of Iraq.
>
> Some critics say the immediate showdown is a result of the Marines'
> overreaction to the killing and mutilation of four American private
> security contractors on March 31. "They've gone to the sledgehammer
> approach," said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings
> Institution. Even before the contractors' deaths, however, the marines
> ran into sporadic but stiff resistance last month as they took over
> responsibility for the area from departing Army soldiers. Marine
> commanders defended their response, which was to throw a cordon of
> troops, tanks and artillery around the city, try to avoid civilian
> casualties and prepare for an urban battle to root out some 2,000
> insurgents.
>
> In recent days, commanders have said they are taking great pains to
> avoid an all-out attack. "Every attempt will be made to solve the
> problem peacefully before resorting to a military offensive against
> terrorists inside the city," Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, the top Marine
> general in Iraq, said in an e-mail message.
>
> Dealing with Falluja has gone from strictly a military matter for
> commanders in Iraq to a broader political debate involving President
> Bush and his top national security aides in Washington, who have
> voiced concerns that images of fierce fighting in Falluja will stir
> uprisings throughout Iraq and outrage throughout the Arab world.
>
> Some Marine commanders grumble that the stop-and-start negotiations
> are giving insurgents more time to restock and refortify their
> defenses, putting marines' lives at risk and postponing what they say
> is an inevitable American attack.
>
> The decision to delay any immediate offensive into Falluja is still
> very tenuous, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. Military commanders are
> unwilling to accept the status quo, while intelligence suggests that
> backing off would encourage a new generation of opposition, and
> postpone big problems until closer to the transfer to Iraqi
> sovereignty on June 30. There is little sign that resistance is
> weakening.
>
> If there is any glimmer of hope for a negotiated settlement, American
> and Iraqi civilian authorities are eager to grasp it. But the idea of
> sending joint American-Iraqi patrols deep into the city has been put
> off several times, since American commanders said Tuesday that the
> Iraqi forces who were being asked to take part were not yet capable of
> doing so without putting themselves and the marines at risk.
>
> Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that "if at some
> point the military decides that the string has run out, then they will
> tell us that and take appropriate action."
>
> "Now, does that mean that something can't be worked out?" he
> continued. "No, I wouldn't say that, or else we wouldn't be where we
> are."
>
> The standoff in Falluja has been building for more than a year.
> American units have come and gone so often in this hotbed of Sunni
> resistance that they have had little time to understand their
> surroundings. Falluja was initially occupied last year by the 82nd
> Airborne Division, which was soon replaced by the Third Armored
> Cavalry, which in turn was replaced by a brigade of the Army's Third
> Infantry Division. Last summer, the Third Infantry handed the town
> back to the Third Armored Cavalry, which was soon replaced by the 82nd
> Airborne Division. Last month, the marines replaced the 82nd Airborne.
>
> By December, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., the division's
> commander, spoke of being on a "glide path" to victory over the
> insurgents, at least in Al Anbar Province, in western Iraq. By
> February, the 82nd Airborne had largely pulled back from patrolling
> Falluja, putting more responsibility in the hands of the Iraqi Civil
> Defense Corps and the Iraqi police. But in early April, those Iraqi
> forces largely folded under fire.
>
> Although reluctant to criticize the Army publicly, the marines
> replacing the 82nd Airborne said the Army's practice of staying out of
> town allowed the security situation in Falluja to fester. For weeks,
> General Conway and other Marine commanders had boasted they would
> shift tactics to work more closely with local people, to gain their
> trust, and, in the process, glean intelligence about insurgents'
> locations. This strategy drew on the Marine Corps' "Small Wars"
> manual, which derives from their 20th-century interventions in Central
> America.
>
> Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, the First Marine Division commander,
> reminded his forces in a message as they arrived last month that he
> had added the warning, "Do no harm," to the unit's motto of "No better
> friend, no worse enemy." Before showing their "velvet glove" approach,
> however, the Marines also wanted insurgents to feel their mailed fist.
> "We will move precisely against the enemy elements and crush them
> without harming the innocent," General Mattis said in his message.
>
> Almost immediately after taking over from the Army, marines came under
> fire. A convoy was ambushed. Patrols pushing into town for the first
> time in weeks were met with mortar and rocket fire, and had to pull
> back. Then the four contractors from Blackwater U.S.A. were killed.
>
> "Certainly the reason we went into Falluja included the killing of the
> four contractors, but Falluja was not a garden paradise before then,"
> Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief spokesman for the American military
> command, said Tuesday. "Falluja has been a problem, a significant
> problem for the coalition and for Iraqi security forces for many, many
> months."
>
> In the Pentagon's view, Falluja was boiling. There had been 27 attacks
> on occupation forces, Iraqi security sites or American administration
> targets in the three weeks before the Blackwater killings. Because of
> that, planning was already under way to go in and clean out insurgents
> in Falluja.
>
> The planning was accelerated after the Blackwater attack because those
> killings were viewed by the Pentagon and local commanders as
> premeditated, and the population cheered indicating the dangerous
> political effect of allowing a Falluja-based insurgency to remain.
>
> Some Army officers said marines had stirred up a hornet's nest without
> responding swiftly and forcefully enough. "The threat in the Al Anbar
> Province was flat out afraid of the 82nd paratroopers," said one Army
> officer who served near Falluja.
>
> But Maj. Kevin Collins, a Marine operations officer in Falluja, put
> the Marines' attitude this way, "If you chose to pick a fight, we'll
> finish it."
>
> Thom Shanker contributed reporting from Washington for this article,
> John F. Burns from Baghdad and John Kifner from Falluja.
>
> Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy |
> Search | Corrections | Help | Back to Top
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>



------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 13:01:02 -0400
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood@panix.com>
Subject: [lbo-talk] TV station owner orders affiliate not to run
Nightline
To: lbo-talk <lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org>
Message-ID: <p05200f02bcb6e4ec888f@[192.168.0.196]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

<http://poynter.org/forum/?id=misc>

Sinclair stations won't run "Nightline" tribute
4/29/2004 10:59:30 AM

NewsBlues.com is reporting [no free link] that Sinclair Broadcast
Group has ordered its ABC-affiliated stations not to carry tomorrow's
"Nightline," which will air the names and photos of soldiers who have
been killed in combat in Iraq.

Sinclair General Counsel Barry Faber tells the site: "We find it to
be contrary to the public interest."

The boycott will affect eight ABC-affiliated Sinclair stations.
>>>>

STATEMENT OF THE SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP

The ABC Television network announced on Tuesday that the Friday,
April 30th edition of "Nightline" will consist entirely of Ted Koppel
reading aloud the names of U.S. servicemen and women killed in action
in Iraq. Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for the show the action
appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine
the efforts of the United States in Iraq.

While the Sinclair Broadcast Group honors the memory of the brave
members of the military who have sacrificed their lives in the
service of our country, we do not believe such political statements
should be disguised as news content. As a result, we have decided to
preempt the broadcast of "Nightline" this Friday on each of our
stations which air ABC programming.

We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by
some. Before you judge our decision, however, we would ask that you
first question Mr. Koppel as to why he chose to read the names of the
523 troops killed in combat in Iraq, rather than the names of the
thousands of private citizens killed in terrorists attacks since and
including the events of September 11, 2001. In his answer, you will
find the real motivation behind his action scheduled for this Friday.

ABC NEWS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO SINCLAIR

We respectfully disagree with Sinclair's decision to pre-empt
"Nightline's" tribute to America's fallen soldiers which will air
this Friday, April 30. The Nightline broadcast is an expression of
respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their
lives for this country. ABC News is dedicated to thoughtful and
balanced coverage and reports on the events shaping our world with
neither fear nor favor -- as our audience expects, deserves, and
rightly demands. Contrary to the statement issued by Sinclair, which
takes issue with our level of coverage of the effects of terrorism on
our citizens, ABC News and all of our broadcasts, including
"Nightline," have reported hundreds of stories on 9-11. Indeed, on
the first anniversary of 9-11, ABC News broadcast the names of the
victims of that horrific attack.

In sum, we are particularly proud of the journalism and award winning
coverage ABC News has produced since September 11, 2001. ABC News
will continue to report on all facets of the war in Iraq and the War
on Terrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which ABC News
has set for decades.



---------------------


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