Falluja Precursors

Operation Vigilant Resolve was an operation by the members of the United States Military as well as other Iraqi forces, to unsuccessfully capture/pacify the city of Fallujah in April 2004, as part of the occupation of Iraq. This article deals with the events and circumstances that led up to the battle.

Falluja has been considered the 'center' of the insurgency in Iraq. The purpose of this article is to establish specific events that led to the city of Falluja becoming this center. It is to be considered a work in progress, to possibly be merged with other related articles in the future. The following are the main contributions to difficulties that the coalition has had with Falluja.


 * 1) History of Resistance
 * 2) Large Military Presence
 * 3) Large Political / Intelligence buildup
 * 4) Religious Factors
 * 5) Prisoner Amnesty

Falluja In The 20th century
In the spring of 1920, the British, who had gained control of Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, sent Lt Col Gerard Leachman, a renowned explorer and a senior colonial officer, to quell a rebellion in Fallujah. Leachman was killed just south of the city in a fight with local leader Shaykh Dhari. The British sent an army to stop the rebellion.

During the brief Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941, the Iraqi army was defeated by the British in a battle near Fallujah.

Locations of Key Facilities
Bathist Headquarters: Centrally located in the middle of Falluja, next to the mayor's office.

Falluja Hospitals: There are three major hospital locations in Falluja. The main hospital (formerly Saddam General) is located downtown, near the west end. The second is located across the Euphrates River in an area west Falluja commonly referred to as the 'peninsula', (due to its shape). The third hospital is the Jordanian Field Hospital located east of the Highway 10/Highway 1 interchange.

Highway 1 is a four-lane, divided superhighway that travels from Baghdad, past Falluja, towards the west. After the sanctions imposed by the UN after the 1991 Gulf War, this highway became the main supply route for the country. Truckers and travellers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Southern Syria all merge onto this highway prior to entering the Eastern Al Anbar province. The highway has a prominent 'cloverleaf' offramp on the eastern edge of Falluja. The highway provides a clear line of demarcation for the east edge of the city.

Highway 10 is a two-lane highway, that tuns into a four land highway one inside of Falluja. The highway runs eas-west, from Baghdad, through Falluja, then west towards Ramadi. A 'cloverleaf' on ramp allows for traffic on/off Highway 1. The highway basically splits the city into two halves, north and south.

A 'railroad' line runs east-west, just along the northern edge of Falluja. The line sits atop a 10–15 foot high berm all along the northern edge of the city, except where it crosses Highway 1. The railroad provides a clear line of demarcation for the northern edge of the city.

The Euphrates River Flows from the west (Ramadi), past Fllauja, and into the Baghdad area. When the river reaches the western edge of Falluja, it turns north, then quickly south, forming what is commonly referred to as the 'peninsula' area. There are two bridges that cross the Euphrates at Falluja. The river provides a cleat line of demarcation for the western edge of the city.

Under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq from 1979 to 2003.

The people of Fallujah had generally benefited under Saddam Hussein, mostly due to the high number of police, military and intelligence officers hired by his administration. However his government was still not popular in the city.

Military Buildup
During his reign, Saddam conducted an extraordinarily large buildup of military forces in and around Falluja area, indicative of the level of unrest in the area. The decision after to disband the Iraqi military after the invasion led to a high number of trained personnel to become unemployed.

Generally, the number of personnel in the Iraqi military prior to the 2003 war was uncertain, but it was believed to have been poorly-equipped. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the Iraqi armed forces to number 389,000 (army 350,000, navy 2,000, air force 20,000 and air defense 17,000), the paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam 44,000, and reserves 650,000.

Another estimate numbers the army and Republican Guard at between 280,000 to 350,000 and 50,000 to 80,000, respectively,[55] and the paramilitary between 20,000 and 40,000. There were an estimated thirteen infantry divisions, ten mechanized and armored divisions, as well as some special forces units. The Iraqi Air Force and Iraqi Navy played a negligible role in the conflict.

Military Near Falluja
17th Hammurabi Republican Guard Armor Division

Bathist Resort (aka Dreamland)

Mujahedin-E Khalq (MEK) Training Camp - a former Iranian terrorist training camp, located outside of Fallujah.

Al Taqaddum Airbase is located in central Iraq approximately 11 mi west of Falluja. The airfield is served by two runways 13,000 and 12000 ft long. According to the "Gulf War Air Power Survey, there were 24 hardened aircraft shelters Al Taqaddum.

Habbaniyah Airbase is located in Central Iraq approximately 11 mi west of Falluja, Just South of the town of Al Habbaniyah. The airbase is served by a single 7800 ft long runway, according to the Gulf War Air Power Survey, there were 8 hardened aircraft shelters, at the base as of 1991.

Abu Ghurayb Presidential Site includes a command bunker, sleeping quarters and a large underground military and intelligence center. The Abu Ghraib complex was one of eight designated presidential palaces, and Iraq's decision to declare it off-limits to UN arms inspectors spurred the {1998 US-Iraqi showdown}.

Political Buildup
Many residents of the primarily Sunni city were employees and supporters of Saddam's government, and many senior Ba'ath Party officials were natives of the city.

Iraqi Intelligence Agencies
During his reign, Saddam had several intelligence agencies at his disposal. The foundation of his power a network of security and intelligence agencies which protected the president and the regime from internal and external enemies. The number and size of these agencies multiplied over time, and by design the areas of responsibility of different agencies were duplicative, to ensure both competition among the services and to ensure that no agency emerged as a threat to the power of Saddam.

There was an unusually high number of national intelligence (mukhabarat) working in Falluja. Local residents told Human Rights Watch that many of them had worked for the military, police or intelligence. This was likely due to the historically restive nature of Falluja.

Former Iraqi Intelligence Organizations included:

Special Security Organization - SSO [Jihaz al-Himaya al-Khas / Al Amn al-Khas]

Iraqi Intelligence Service - IIS General Intelligence Directorate - GID [Jihaz al-Mukhabarat al-Amma]

Military Intelligence [Al-Istikhbarat al-Askariyya]

Military Security Service [Al Amn al-Askariyya]

General Security Service [Mudiriyat al-Amn al-Amma]

Special Republican Guard (SRG)

Saddam's Martyrs ["Men of Sacrifice"] Fedayeen Saddam

Economic Incentives
In 1947 the town had only about 10,000 inhabitants. It grew rapidly into a city after Iraqi independence with the influx of oil wealth into the country. Its position on one of the main roads out of Baghdad made it of central importance.

Fallujah was heavily industrialized during the Saddam era, with the construction of several large factories, including one closed down by United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in the 1990s that may have been used to create chemical weapons. A new highway system (a part of Saddam's infrastructure initiatives) circumvented Fallujah and gradually caused the city to decline in national importance by the time of the Iraq War.

Religious Considerations
Falluja is considered to have significant religious influence. The city has the nickname "city of mosques'. There are more than one hundred mosques located in the city. "Wahabism" is among the most ultraconservative forms of Islam.  The Wahabi movement has its origins in Saudi Arabia.  However, the movement in Iraq has its beginnings in Falluja.  Like any other ultraconservative movement, Saddam saw the Wahabbi movement as a threat.

Gulf War 1991
Two separate failed bombing attempts on Fallujah's bridge across the Euphrates River hit crowded markets, killing an estimated 200 civilians.

After the conclusion of the Gulf War of 1991, the U.S., the UK, and the international community maintained a policy of “containment” towards Iraq. This policy involved numerous economic sanctions

Events Just Prior to 2003 Invasion
The 2003 invasion of Iraq mainly by the United States, Britain, Australia and Poland officially began on March 20, 2003. This section discusses events prior to this invasion. Form more information on events during and after the invasion, see the following links.

Iraq War

2003 invasion of Iraq

Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present

Prisoner Amnesty
In October 2002, Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), the state's supreme authority, issued an amnesty to all prisoners in Iraq. Abu Ghraib prison, located 15 mi east of Falluja, was reported to be deserted following the amnesty. According to news reports, authorities claimed that 13,000 inmates were released from Abu Ghraib prison, however numbers were unconfirmed.