[EDITORIAL]Offensive at Fallujah (2004.11.10)

[EDITORIAL]Offensive at Fallujah Exhorting their troops, U.S. Marine officers engaged in the battle of Fallujah, the stronghold of Iraq's Sunni Muslim militants, are comparing their operation to the Incheon landing during the Korean War, the flag-raising invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II, and the recapture of Hue during the Vietnam war. Just as the amphibious operation at Incheon turned the tide of the Korean War, the "pacification" of Fallujah after seven months of standoff will certainly change the shape of the Iraqi conflict. In the rectangular 3-kilometer by 3.5-kilometer city with numerous mosques, which had a population of about 300,000 but is now reduced to half that, an estimated 3,000 Iraqi militants are resisting the onslaught of a 12,000-strong U.S. assault forces. Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his al-Qaida affiliate group that killed Korean hostage Kim Sun-il are known to be based in the city, the scene of the murder of four American civilian contractors and the mutilation of their bodies late in March. Within days, the Fallujah offensive, which the U.S. military and Iraqi authorities held up until after the U.S. presidential election, will be over and it will probably be recorded as the bloodiest and most destructive operation in the Iraqi war. Anticipating heavy civilian casualties, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized the U.S. Fallujah operation, which he believed would trigger a wave of violence that could disrupt the Iraqi elections late in January. Americans must be well aware of the legitimacy of Annan's concerns but they have had little choice. Having sealed a sort of truce with militant groups of the majority Shiite Muslims, U.S. officials are ready to conduct the January elections even at the risk of widespread boycotts from the minority Sunnis, accounting for 35 percent of Iraq's population. The Fallujah offensive followed the declaration of a state of emergency over the whole of Iraq except for the Kurdish-ruled region in the north, including the Irbil area where the Korean Zaytun Unit is stationed. For 60 days, the emergency decree will allow Iraqi authorities to crack down on insurgent suspects to ensure a peaceful atmosphere, free of terrorist threats, for the elections. At the moment, the January elections look like an ultimate goal which will finally give the Americans freedom to exit from Iraq. But the polls are only to elect a democratic parliament which is to write a new Iraqi constitution to replace the existing one passed by the provisional Governing Council. The whole process for democratic rule will begin with the promulgation of the new basic charter, if that is possible. Again, it should be emphasized that Fallujah holds the key to the future of Iraq. The U.S. forces should exhibit extraordinary restraint with their superior manpower and firepower in the assault to minimize Iraqi civilian casualties. That would help Americans gain a little more credibility among the local people and make it easier for U.S. and Iraqi authorities to prepare for the elections ensuring broader participation of the Iraqi population from both religious sects. Any images broadcast by al-Jazeera TV of bloodthirsty GIs shooting in vengeance at women and children would only defer the "Iraqification" scheme indefinitely. 2004.11.10