In April, 2,000 Marines fought for three weeks and failed to take Fallujah from its insurgent defenders. This time, war planners sent six times the troops, who fought their way across the rebel city in just six days — far more quickly than expected, the Marine general who designed the ground attack said Sunday. A military statement Sunday said that 38 U.S. troops had been killed and 275 were wounded so far in the operation. There is still no estimate of civilians killed or wounded in the assault. Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski told The Associated Press he and other planners took lessons from the failed three-week U.S. assault on the city in April, which was called off by the Bush administration after a worldwide outcry over civilian deaths. This time the military used swarms of aircraft — more than 20 types — that pounded the city before and during the assault. “We had the green light this time and we went all the way,” Natonski said. Full Story
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