Sorry, it sounds like a slow retreat to me
Former Iraqi Soldiers to Replace U.S. Marines in Fallujah
10 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Baghdad Area
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 29, 2004; 8:50 AM
FALLUJAH, April 29 -- A new agreement aimed at ending the three-week long siege of Fallujah was announced Thursday under which a force of former Iraqi soldiers and commanders will be mustered into a "Fallujah Protection Army" and replace U.S. Marines in and around the embattled city.
…The Fallujah plan announced Thursday is the product of three days of discussions between American commanders and four former Iraqi generals. An agreement was reached Wednesday night and implementation, which could take several weeks, is expected to begin Friday, said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Fallujah.
The agreement is not a cease-fire plan similar to the one in effect now. It does not depend on insurgents turning in weapons or halting hostilities.
