Multi-National Force - Iraq:FALLUJAH — It is hard to imagine someone never hearing of this city or of the house-to-house fighting that has taken place here since the war began. U.S. military officials called it “the heaviest urban combat since the battle of Hue City in Vietnam,” nearly 40 years ago.
During the early winter months of 2004, Fallujah was at the center of a joint U.S. military and Iraqi offensive against insurgents led by Marines of I Marine Expeditionary Force. Prior to the offensive operation inside the city limits on Nov. 7, there hadn’t been a U.S. military presence since April 2004. This gave insurgents time to build up defensive positions, booby trap houses, plant roadside bombs and scope out sniper positions from towering mosques. This made Fallujah overwhelmingly dangerous and deadly, and for more than a month, Marines and Iraqi commandos battled in the fiercest skirmishes this war has seen.
Today, more than 300,000 Iraqis have moved back into the city. The security is at such a high, leaders from both sides are able to concentrate on the quality of life for the peaceful Iraqi people.
