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I am having flashbacks to my time as a marine during the second siege
of Falluja in 2004. Again, claims are being published that al-Qaida has
taken over the city and that a heavy-handed military response is needed
to take the city back from the control of terrorists.
The first time around, this claim proved to be false. The vast
majority of the men we fought against in Falluja were locals,
unaffiliated with al-Qaida, who were trying to expel the foreign
occupiers from their country. There was a presence of al-Qaida in the
city, but they played a minimal and marginal role in the fighting.
The Iraqi government's recent actions in Falluja turned the
non-violent movement violent. When the protest camp in Falluja was
cleared, many of the protestors picked up arms and began fighting to
expel the state security forces from their city. It was local, tribal
people – people not affiliated with transnational jihadist movements –
who have taken the lead in this fight against the Iraqi government.
However, it is being reported that Falluja has "fallen", that it was
"captured" by ISIS, who has now raised their flag over the city, declaring Falluja an Islamic emirate. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior's claim that half of Falluja is controlled by Isis ( the Islamic State of Iraq in Syria) has been accepted as fact and has framed all discussion of these events.
Feurat Alani, a French-Iraqi journalist with family ties in Falluja, has reported that Isis is not playing a significant role in the fighting in Falluja.
http://www.alternet.org/world/i-helped-destroy-iraqi-city-falluja-i-wont-be-complicit-again?page=0%2C1
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