In April 2004, a year after the start of the Iraq War, US troops were embroiled in a bitter urban insurgency that was to last another five years and leave Iraq deeply insecure. One particular incident that month in the disputed city of Fallujah powerfully illustrated the problem for the US. It also showed the US waging war in a way that made no effort to protect civilians. It is enthusiastically doing the same thing today in Afghanistan.
What happened in Fallujah began when a Marine Corps column was sent into the city to supply a small forward operating base but came under heavy attack from paramilitaries. The marines had to take refuge in a building and were besieged until a large rescue force extricated them in an intense three-hour battle. All the marines survived, though some were injured.
An experienced US journalist, Pamela Constable of the Washington Post, was embedded with the US military at the time and described the situation and its aftermath. She reported that the operation had been a success:
