"The people of Fallujah, now they know the truth of the terrorists, the mujahadeen. Now they know that these people are not working for Fallujah; no, they are working against the people here. So they've changed their minds, all of their thinking about the terrorists. Fallujah was a city of peace for a long time. It's the “city of mosques” and all the people are peaceful, hard workers"

Oh I don't know about this at all. I remember from the dim distant past at the very start of the War, when I was reading Iraq The Model, and they indicated that Fallujah was a known centre of crime and banditry even in Saddam's time. In fact they said, I believe that even Saddam could not really control the accursed place. A cesspool among cesspools so to speak.

"It's the “city of mosques” and all the people are peaceful, hard workers"

Yeah right, and Santa Claus is on his way with a gazillion dollars just for me this year. He promised.

The one thing that all observers of Iraq appear to agree on is this ----- Iraqis are LIARS. Period. Now the motivations may be different from one set of liars to another(including the wish not to offend by stating the possibly disagrreeable), but the lying(either by omission or overtly) seems a constant.

While I respect Bill in his reporting, I really think he might be giving too much credence here to what he is being told.

Fallujah is a pit. Was evidently a pit even under Saddam. And will likely be a pit long after the US leaves it to its own devices.

They might have turned against Al-Queda, but I would not trust anyone there to tell me what the weather was like. Even if I was outdoors actually observing the weather.

"The people of Fallujah, now they know the truth of the terrorists, the mujahadeen. Now they know that these ppeople are not working for Fallujah; no, they are working against the people here. So they've changed their minds, all of their thinking about the terrorists. Fallujah was a city of peace for a long time. It's the “city of mosques” and all the people are peaceful, hard workers"

Oh I don't know about this at all. I remember from the dim distant past at the very start of the War, when I was reading Iraq The Model, and they indicated that Fallujah was a known centre of crime and banditry even in Saddam's time. In fact they said, I believe that even Saddam could not really control the accursed place. A cesspool among cesspools so to speak.

"It's the “city of mosques” and all the people are peaceful, hard workers"

Yeah right, and Santa Claus is on his way with a gazillion dollars just for me this year. He promised.

The one thing that all observers of Iraq appear to agree on is this ----- Iraqis are LIARS. Period. Now the motivations may be different from one set of liars to another(including the wish not to offend by stating the possibly disagreeable), but the lying(either by omission or overtly) seems a constant.

While I respect Bill in his reporting, I really think he might be giving too much credence here to what he is being told.

Fallujah is a pit. Was evidently a pit even under Saddam. And will likely be a pit long after the US leaves it to its own devices.

They might have turned against Al-Queda, but I would not trust anyone there to tell me what the weather was like. Even if I was outdoors actually observing the weather.

"Mukhtar: The Americans now are peaceful -- more than us (laughs). They are helpful and give humanitarian support for the people here."

But Greenspan is just the latest to inform us once again that the war is all over oil. What are Americans doing helping Iraqis in Fallujah? Is it close to oil fields?

dougf -

"While I respect Bill in his reporting, I really think he might be giving too much credence here to what he is being told."

I am publishing a man's response to a question, not attempting to give credence to it. Fallujah's history of being a haven for smuggling and banditry is well known to me, and I have written quite a bit about this history in past dispatches.

Thanks for the compliment re: "respect," btw.