By Dahr Jamail
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Monday 12 June 2006

Fearful residents are now pouring out of Ramadi after the US military
has been assaulting the city for months with tactics like cutting water,
electricity and medical aid, imposing curfews, and attacking by means of
snipers and random air strikes. This time, Iraqis there are right to
fear the worst - an all out attack on the city, similar to what was done
to nearby Fallujah.

It has always been just a matter of time before the US military would
finally get around to destroying Ramadi, the capital city of al-Anbar
province. After all, Ramadi is not far from Fallujah, and so similar to
Fallujah both tribally and in their disdain towards the idea of being
occupied, that many people in Ramadi even refer to Fallujah as "Ramadi."
I know many people from Ramadi who lost relatives and friends during
both US assaults on Fallujah, and the level of anti-American sentiment
has always been high there.

STOP PRESS: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi captured by US forces in Iraq
3.1.05

from Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation www.idao.org

12.00 GMT. IDAO exclusive. According to IDAO's own sources in Baghdad and Sulaimanya, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been arrested in Bagouba by US forces.

August 29, 2004
INSURGENCY

In Western Iraq, Fundamentalists Hold U.S. at Bay
By JOHN F. BURNS and ERIK ECKHOLM
NYT

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 28 - While American troops have been battling Islamic militants to an uncertain outcome in Najaf, the Shiite holy city, events in two Sunni Muslim cities that stand astride the crucial western approaches to Baghdad have moved significantly against American plans to build a secular democracy in Iraq.

If Ramadi falls, 'province goes to hell'
Mon Jul 12, 6:40 AM ET
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

This may be the most dangerous city in Iraq.

Though battles in places such as Fallujah and Najaf have gotten far more attention, the Marine battalion in this provincial capital has encountered the most deadly combat fighting and logged the highest number of casualties of any U.S. battalion since the war in Iraq began.

This AP report indicates that 2 US marines were killed today in Falluja. CNN TV, however, is reporting that 3 more US soldiers were killed in Al Anbar province.
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