September 05, 2007

Update from Fallujah: The Surge is Working!

Longtime friend Bill Ardalino has made it to Fallujah and he likes what he sees. The last time he was in Fallujah I had a couple of online chats with him, the majority of the which I seem to recall were him asking, "do you want to get me f*cking killed"? That was just this January, now he reports a sea change on the ground. Here it is:

[A] quick teaser: the positive change in Fallujah since my January visit is astounding.

I've attended a Fallujah City Council meeting, a recruiting day for the "Fallujah Protectors" (neighborhood watch), the establishment of the city's last police precinct and a meeting of "muktars," traditional cultural leaders of specific neighborhoods who work with Marines to improve infrastructure. Tomorrow, my CAG unit will distribute food bags downtown. Almost none of this access or interaction was possible in January, and the cooperation with American personnel is widespread and animated.

The surreality of the change can be summed up by this afternoon.

You'll have to click on over to INDC Journal to read the rest. It's not a long post, but Bill promises more updates from Fallujah.

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