The US Fights Back

Wretchard at the Belmont Club has done an excellent job at analyzing the situation in Fallujah. One of the things that he has covered is the massive and coordinated propaganda effort underway against the US. Reporters were used by the insurgents in a manner that suggest the involvment of Special Forces operatives from either Syria or Iran. This massive propaganda effort was having some success initiailly, and the US didn't appear to be doing much about it. However, it now appears that the US is playing some psychological games of its own, conducting serious pyschological warfare against the insurgents, and taking steps to counter propaganda. This includes playing Rock Music at night to prevent the insurgents from sleeping, as well as other steps. One of the more important steps has been to confuse the insurgents about future US intentions vis-a-vis Fallujah, concerning whether or not the Marines will make a big push. The military and the White House have sent conflicting messages about whether the Marines will be allowed to go into the city with full force to crush the insurgents. Some have taken this behavior to indicate that the US isn't sure what steps to take to deal with Fallujah. I don't believe that this is the case. Rather, the uncertainty is deliberate, a psy ops effort directed at the insurgents. The insurgents aren't sure if the Marines are going to make a big push, or if they will hold back and try to strangle them slowly, in a python maneauver. The uncertainty works against the insurgents because they are unsure what strategy to put into place. If they expect the Marines to make a final push, then they should build up an area where they can hold their final stand, and try to kill as many Americans and innocent Iraqis as they can. However, if the Marines continue with the python stranglehold, then it would be better for them to work on building a mobile defense, and to spread out their ammo and weapons, so that blockbuster air strikes, like the recent ones that produced massive secondaries, don't occur. Also, this would help the insurgents break out of the city should that show itself to be a smart move. The insurgents now are unsure what strategy to follow, allowing the Marines to set the pace of events.