One Utah

Fallujah, Iraq lies in ruins. In the fight to take the city three years ago, U.S. forces reportedly damaged 60% of the city’s buildings, with 20% totally demolished including 60 of the city’s mosques. Of the city’s 50,000 homes, 36,000 were destroyed.

Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. “They made a desert and called it peace,” historian Gaius Cornelius Tacitus wrote about the Roman occupation of Britain. Can that approach work in Iraq?

Right-wing war blogger and freelance journalist Michael J. Totten is embedded with the U.S. Marines in Fallujah, Iraq and gives us this report:.

FALLUJAH, IRAQ – “You’re probably safer here than you are in New York City,” said Marine First Lieutenant Barry Edwards when I arrived in Fallujah. I raised my eyebrows at him skeptically. “How many people got shot at last night in New York City?” he said.

“Probably somebody,” I said.

“Yeah, probably somebody did,” he said. “Somewhere.”

Nobody was shot last night in Fallujah. No American has been shot anywhere in Fallujah since the 3rd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment rotated into the city two months ago. There have been no rocket or mortar attacks since the summer. Not a single one of the 3/5 Marines has even been wounded.

Tank takes out a Fallujah house with 120 mm high explosive round, November 2004

1LT Edwards’ claim is pretty astounding, when you stop to consider that New York, with 8.2 million people, is one of the safest cities in America– with a crime rate equal to Provo, Utah. CNN reports that the number of New York homicides in 2007 is the lowest in 40 years. There were 411 killings as of November 26.

How does Fallujah compare? The website Iraq Body Count has the most reliable information on the death toll in Iraq. Going through their database, I compiled some statistics on Fallujah year-to-date.

Total deaths (not including U.S. troops) — 588
Killed by bombs, air strikes, rockets, mortars, hand grenades or chlorine gas — 241
Shot to death — 221
Policemen killed — 58
People killed by U.S. forces — 26

Fallujah’s pre-war population may have been around 310,000 - 350,000. Also bear in mind that for three years, Fallujah has been under a virtual lockdown. It is surrounded by checkpoints. All residents must carry biometric ID cards. Visitors are restricted.

New Yorkers are a lot better off, in my humble opinion. Oh, and so far this year three NYPD officers have lost their lives in the line of duty, compared with 58 in Fallujah.

If there is any good news in the 2007 Fallujah death toll, it’s that relatively few Iraqis were killed by U.S. forces. Unlike Baghdad and its suburbs, there was only one air strike called in by the Marines on Fallujah. Of course, the flip side of this is that 72,000 Sunni militiamen made up of “former” insurgents are now in control of Anbar Province. They are being paid not to shoot at Americans, and also have the power to make arbitrary arrests and conduct summary executions of alleged “Al Qaeda” fighters, which means anybody who gets in their way.

Here is my tally based on the Iraq Body Count database. These are incidents recorded by newspaper reports, for the most part. Not all deaths make the news in Iraq. Non-fatal incidents are not in the database.

24 Nov – 2 dead bodies found
19 Nov – 3 killed by car bomb
08 Nov - roadside bomb targeting police patrol kills 6 policemen
04 Nov – 3 decomposed bodies found in river
29 Oct - policeman shot dead
27 Oct - woman and child in car shot dead by US troops
25 Oct – 2 bodies found
23 Oct - 1 killed by roadside bomb
22 Oct - 15 bodies found
21 Oct - suicide car bomber attacks police checkpoint, kills 2 policemen
16 Oct - Sunni Al-Anbar Awakening Council member, son and nephew shot dead
03 Oct - 1 killed by rocket attack on house
27 Sep - policeman is killed during attack on checkpoint
25 Sep - policeman killed by roadside bomb
14 Sep - shop owner killed by hand grenade, policeman killed by roadside bomb
27 Aug - 11 killed by suicide bomb in Fallujah mosque
01 Aug - 2 police killed by suicide truck bomb
26 Jul - 3 killed by roadside bomb in central Fallujah
16 Jul - 3 police shot dead
15 Jul - former Iraqi army officer shot dead in Fallujah
12 Jul - 2 police recruits killed by suicide bomber
04 Jul - 2 members of Anbar Salvation Council found dead
02 Jul - 4 killed by suicide car bomb
01 Jul - 5 police killed by suicide truck bomb
30 Jun - 40 bodies found bound and shot
28 Jun - policeman shot dead in central Fallujah
24 Jun - policeman shot dead in Fallujah
23 Jun - 1 killed by suicide car bomb, 1 by Katusha rocket
22 Jun - policeman shot dead, deputy chairman of council sports committee shot dead in Fallujah
21 Jun - 4 children killed in explosion at soap factory
18 Jun - 3-5 killed by truck bomb and car bombs in Fallujah
17 Jun - 3 killed by roadside bomb, 6 potential police recruits in Fallujah
16 Jun - 1 child shot dead by policeman, head of missing policeman found in Fallujah
09 Jun - 1 killed by mortar in southern Fallujah
05 Jun - 17-18 killed by suicide car bomb
04 Jun - 5 men kidnapped and executed near Fallujah
03 Jun - 8 bodies found in Fallujah
01 Jun - 3 children killed by US tank fire or bomb in Fallujah
31 May - 24-25 killed by suicide bomber in Fallujah
30 May - 5-7 killed by mortar shells in Fallujah
29 May - journalist and 6-7 relatives shot dead
27 May - 1 child killed by car bomb near Fallujah
25 May - 2 killed by car bomb attack on house of policeman, tribal sheikh shot dead in eastern Fallujah
24 May - 33-34 killed by suicide car bomb, central Fallujah
23 May - Sunni tribal leader shot dead, former secret service officer shot dead
21 May - 2 bodies found in Fallujah
20 May - member of Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party shot dead in Fallujah
19 May - 3 bodies of Anbar Salvation Council members found near Fallujah
16 May - 1 committee member shot dead, 6 Abu Issa tribal members killed by suicide bomber in Fallujah
15 May – 1 killed by roadside bomb in Albu Hatem, west of Fallujah, 1 off duty policeman shot dead
14 May - 6 bodies found in two areas of Fallujah
13 May - physician shot dead in Fallujah
12 May - former army colonel shot dead in Fallujah
11 May - 7 bodies found in Fallujah
10 May - council member shot dead in central Fallujah
08 May - 5 bodies found shot dead in Fallujah
06 May - former army officer shot dead in Fallujah
04 May - 22 bodies found around Fallujah
03 May – 5 killed in crossfire during clashes, 5 bodies found in Fallujah
01 May - 4 fuel tanker drivers killed near Fallujah, 1 policeman shot dead in Fallujah
27 Apr - 1 university professor shot dead in eastern Fallujah
26 Apr - 2 members of a family shot dead, 1 political party member shot dead, 2 unidentified bodies found in Fallujah
25 Apr – 2 shot dead in Fallujah
24 Apr – 2 police by roadside bomb in Fallujah
23 Apr - 1 body found in Fallujah
22 Apr - 2 brothers shot dead in Fallujah
21 Apr - chairman of city council and 1 other person shot dead in central Fallujah
20 Apr - 8 by killed by suicide car bomb near Fallujah, 1 shot dead in Fallujah
16 Apr - 7 bodies found tortured, shot in Fallujah
15 Apr - bodies of four policemen found in Fallujah
14 Apr - Director of Citizenship Department, 2 policemen shot dead in central Fallujah
11 Apr - 6 bodies found in different areas of Fallujah
10 Apr - 1 local council member shot dead in Fallujah, 4 bodies found in central Fallujah
08 Apr - 13 bodies found tortured, shot; Policeman killed by roadside bomb in Fallujah
07 Apr - 4 bodies found tortured, shot in Fallujah
06 Apr - 7 from one family killed by roadside bomb near Fallujah
05 Apr - former army officer shot dead in Fallujah
04 Apr - former army officer shot dead in central Fallujah
02 Apr - 3 bodies found in Fallujah; member of Clerics’ Council shot dead in Fallujah
01 Apr - Body of former Iraqi army officer found in Fallujah
28 Mar - 8 by suicide truck bombs, one with chlorine gas, in Fallujah
26 Mar - 3 bodies found of women and a young boy, north of Fallujah; shop owner gunned down west of Fallujah
24 Mar - 12 bodies found shot dead in Fallujah
23 Mar - 2 policemen by explosive charge in central Fallujah
20 Mar - former army officer and friend shot dead; body of a man found shot dead in Fallujah
17 Mar - former Iraqi army pilot shot dead in central Fallujah
16 Mar – 2 killed by tanker carrying chlorine bomb south of Fallujah; 2-6 by suicide truck carrying chlorine
14 Mar - 2 cleaners shot dead by US forces in central Fallujah; 2 men found tortured, shot dead near Fallujah
07 Mar - 4 bodies found shot dead in Fallujah
01 Mar - 5-8 killed by car bomb at wedding, Fallujah
28 Feb - 3 police killed in clashes, Amriyat al-Fallujah; 4 killed by mortar rounds near Fallujah
25 Feb - 15 killed by air strikes on houses near Fallujah; 3 from the same family beheaded in Amriyat al-Fallujah
23 Feb - 3 killed by mortar rounds west of Fallujah
19 Feb - 13 from Sunni family shot dead near Fallujah
16 Feb - 3 police in clashes in Yarmuk, southern Fallujah
14 Feb - 4 police shot dead, Al-Shurta, Fallujah
12 Feb - 2 members of one family shot dead in Fallujah
08 Feb - 3 bodies found shot dead near Fallujah
07 Feb – 10 killed by car bomb south of Fallujah; 4 shot by sniper in Fallujah
06 Feb – 4 killed by mortar hitting house, Fallujah
03 Feb – 5 bodies found dumped in a public square in Fallujah; 1 killed by mortar attack in the Fallujah area
02 Feb - local council member shot dead in Fallujah
01 Feb - 5 bodies found dumped in different parts of Fallujah
31 Jan - 15 bodies found tortured, shot in Fallujah
29 Jan - policeman shot dead in northern Fallujah
28 Jan - 2 killed by car bomb in Fallujah
25 Jan - boy and elderly woman by motorcycle bomb, Fallujah
23 Jan - 3 butchers shot dead in a local market in Fallujah
21 Jan - 2 police shot dead in Fallujah
19 Jan - 2 former policemen shot dead in Fallujah
16 Jan - 4 killed in two separate incidents in Fallujah
10 Jan – 1 killed by mortar shells outside a police headquarters, Fallujah
07 Jan - policeman shot dead by a sniper in Fallujah
05 Jan - 4 shot dead in random fire from US forces, Fallujah

This entry was posted Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Disaster, Iraq, MilBlogs, Military, This Blog, War. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.