With the dust still settling following the US-led Fallujah offensive (Intel Report, WAR Report, and WAR Report) and as US and Iraqi forces continue to consolidate and secure the city, the offensive?s results in counter-insurgency terms are beginning to come to the fore.

The offensive itself likely served to degrade the operational capabilities, weapons resources and material, fighter ranks, and areas of operation of many of the most hardcore insurgent groups, including those from the Sunni extremist, former regime, and native nationalist camps, as well as those from the foreign fighter camp, including fighters associated with al-Qaeda (Group Profile) and the preeminent terrorist commander and mastermind, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It has been estimated that some 2,000 insurgent fighters were killed in the offensive, and US forces continue to secure or destroy weapons and explosives caches throughout the city. The offensive likely dealt a stunning psychological blow to a portion of the surviving insurgent ranks, while likely rallying and steeling the more committed, hardcore ranks to redouble their militant efforts. Further, the discovery of safe houses and command and control centers in Falluja has likely lead to a trove of intelligence on the inner workings of the insurgency.