"Level it, wipe it clear off the map,"

I think that is a wrong comparison. I do not believe the Nazis were especially concerned with "getting the innocents out" - and neither were the Allies when levelling some German cities.

I also think it rather unfair to take the quote of some poor American fella in the middle of hell and react as though it were army policy - though some sources say that was close to what was happening in some areas of the city.

Though quite what they are going to do....

A Special Forces colonel in the Vietnam War said of the town, Ben Tre, "We had to destroy the town in order to save it, encapsulating the entire war in a single statement. The same is true in Iraq today -- Fallujah cannot be "saved" from its mujaheddin unless it is destroyed.

Pist, you did not address Deb's comment. Please do so.

?
Which exact part of her comments are you refering to, Bob?

I think if this quote had been attributed to a Muslim cleric regarding any city (here or there), it would have been front-page news.

Failure
Fallujah: symbol of resistance
Fallujah has become the turning point for the occupation of Iraq. Until now, Iraqi anger at the U.S. was widespread but diffused; and polls showed that Iraqis still hoped that the invasion would eventually lead to brighter future. The past seven days have changed all that, as pictures of dead children fill the TV screens across the nation.

According to this Knight Ridder report, "In this one week, Fallujah has come to symbolize for Iraqis everything that is wrong with the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.


One, we will need more U.S. troops. The head of the United States Central Command in Iraq, General John Abizaid, has asked the Pentagon to send 10,000 more troops. The request isn't good news for George Bush who has promised to bring back 25,000 troops by November. It's not clear where the troops will come from, but there is no doubt that our allies won't be stepping in to help us out. Two, the battle for Iraq will become bloodier in the coming months, with the death toll dramatically rising on both sides. April is already becoming the deadliest month for the Pentagon since the war began in March, 2003. According to AP, 78 U.S. soldiers were killed and 561 wounded in Iraq in the first 12 days of April. Of course, 600 Iraqis have died in Fallujah alone during the same period. Higher the U.S. casualties, more brutal the military response.

Three, until Fallujah, the coalition forces were fighting a guerilla war, motivated by a mish-mash of religious fervor, anti-American sentiments, and frustration at the slow pace of reconstruction. Now it's a nationalist struggle: "'What is striking is how much has changed in a week -- a week,' said Wamid Nadhmi, a political science professor at Baghdad University. 'No one can talk about the Sunni Triangle anymore. No one can seriously talk about Sunni-Shiite fragmentation or civil war. The occupation cannot talk about small bands of resistance. Now it is a popular rebellion and it has spread.'"

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/2004/04/001878.html