Deadly April Battle Became a Turning Point for Fallouja: Along with the Abu Ghraib revelations, what may come to be seen in the history books as the point where we lost even the semblance of control over or reason for the occupation was the extraordinary news of the US forces turning over control of Fallouja to men who “pull(ed) their old olive-green uniforms and burgundy berets out of the closet and (went) back to work…” The Los Angeles Times dissects the events:

“Privately, Marines who began arriving here in March viewed the Army’s strategy throughout Iraq’s Sunni heartland as unduly confrontational.

But the grisly slayings of four U.S. contractors March 31 changed everything. Orders from a higher authority eclipsed the Marines’ “no better friend” intentions for Fallouja. “When the president says go, we go,” said Col. J.C. Coleman, chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

So the Marines were pushed to do something — a full-fledged assault on the city — that the Army had avoided, and military strategists now say was ill-conceived. Too few Marines were marshaled to confront a dug-in urban foe that proved unexpectedly resilient, well-armed and relentless.

The fighting quickly turned ugly, as did the images of dead and maimed civilians and fleeing refugees broadcast on Arab-language television. U.S. forces called a cease-fire after several days. Three weeks later, the insurgents had benefited from the chance to rearm, bring in new recruits and prepare ambushes, ensuring even more slaughter once the battle was renewed.

“In the end, the Americans left themselves with only bad options,” said Michael Clarke, professor of defense studies at King’s College, London. “They could either destroy the city, causing heavy loss of life. Or they could walk away. Both are a disaster, but the Americans chose the less disastrous of the two.””