How Fallujah was lost

A NEW ASSESSMENT PRODUCED BY THE U.S. ARMY HAS FOUND THE MILITARY’S FIERCEST FOES DID NOT RECEIVE THEIR TRAINING from al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam, or Hezbollah, but from Harvard University, the Columbia School of Journalism, and the New York Times editorial board. [snip]

The outcome of a purely military contest in Fallujah was always a foregone conclusion – Coalition victory. But Fallujah was not simply a military action, it was a political and informational battle...The effects of media coverage, enemy information operations, and the fragility of the political environment conspired to force a halt to U.S. military operations.

Specifically, the report mentioned false claims of civilian casualties, singling out Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiyah footage. “Children were shown bespattered with blood; mothers were shown screaming and mourning day after day.” The United Press International (UPI) news service reports that it has confirmed the Army report’s accuracy. It confirms the thesis that the most effective efforts against the war have emanated not from al-Qaeda or other extremists groups but from American politicians and journalists.

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