American officials stress that the final order to launch a big operation would come from Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who has warned Fallujah to hand over followers of terrorism mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or face attack."

Boy howdy!! Either US troops are under the command of the Iraqis, OR Allawi is a complete, acknowledged puppet.

Falluja is one city. How about the rest of the country? For example:

"Before a Sept. 23 joint session of Congress, with Vice President Cheney proudly presiding, Allawi claimed some signal accomplishments fighting the insurgency. First on the list was Samarra, a town north of Baghdad where there’s a sacred Shiite shrine but a largely Sunni population. In many ways it’s a fitting symbol for all the terrible complications that have confused, frustrated and killed Americans in modern-day Mesopotamia. It has long been a no-go area for U.S. troops, and the locals have anticipated big American offensive since last summer when many evacuated the city.

"Yet this is what Allawi told the credulous, clapping senators and congressmen: "In Samarra, the Iraqi government has tackled the insurgents who once controlled the city. Following weeks of discussions between government officials and representatives, Coalition forces and local community leaders, regular access to the city has been restored. A new provincial council and governor have been selected, and a new chief of police has been appointed. Hundreds of insurgents have been pushed out of the city by local citizens eager to get [on] with their lives. Today in Samarra, Iraqi forces are patrolling the city, in close coordination with their Coalition counterparts."

"Guess not. Exactly eight days later—only eight days—on Oct. 1, the U.S. military announced that the First Infantry Division and a couple of recently minted Iraqi units had to mount “offensive operations in Samarra” because “anti-Iraqi force attacks and acts of intimidation against the people of Samarra have undermined the security situation in the city.” (The enemy used to be called “Anti-Coalition Forces,” but have recently been renamed, by the Americans, “Anti-Iraqi Forces.” In fact, they’re anti-American Iraqis. According to U.S. military intelligence, roughly 95 per cent of the insurgents nationwide are Iraqi. Only 3 to 5 percent are foreigners.) "

So, Allawi is no more honest than Cheney (how can a puppet have more character than it's puppet-master?) AND taking cities relatively easy, apparently. Holding them is another matter.

Arf