As always, Belmont Club has a massive amount of information on the tactics in the battle. This is a battle between a group of insurgents who use surprise and sneak attacks versus the coalition which uses advanced technology and massive firepower. The terrorists have lost their ability to use surprise, and they’re getting hammered because of it. To understand how deadly our forces are, The Daily Telegraph provides an example:
“I got myself a real juicy target,” shouted Sgt James Anyett, peering through the thermal sight of a Long Range Acquisition System (LRAS) mounted on one of Phantom’s Humvees. “Prepare to copy that 89089226. Direction 202 degrees. Range 950 metres. I got five motherf****** in a building with weapons.” A dozen loud booms rattle the sky and smoke rose as mortars rained down on the co-ordinates the sergeant had given. “Yeah,” he yelled. “Battle Damage Assessment – nothing. Building’s gone. I got my kills, I’m coming down. I just love my job.”
…The insurgents, not understanding the capabilities of the LRAS, crept along rooftops and poked their heads out of windows. Even when they were more than a mile away, the soldiers of Phantom Troop had their eyes on them. Lt Jack Farley, a US Marines officer, sauntered over to compare notes with the Phantoms. “You guys get to do all the fun stuff,” he said. “It’s like a video game. We’ve taken small arms fire here all day. It just sounds like popcorn going off.”
When the United States send in the Marines, we’re not screwing around. Fortunately most of Fallujah’s civilian population has been evacuated before the seige, giving the coalition much more operational freedom. The terrorists trapped in the city are about to meet the most potent military force ever assembled. From AC-130 gunships capable of raining down bullets from the sky to systems like the LRAS, any resistance can be countered with overwhelming firepower. Our troops are trained for advanced urban warfare, and they’re putting that training to the test.
Fallujah has long been a place where the car bombs that have murdered countless Iraqis have been created, where terrorists have been subjugating the populartion, and where the rule of law is unknown. In the next few days that will change, and the murderers of Fallujah will find that the worst place to be is in front of a battle-ready US Marine.
