Reuters is reporting: “Helicopters flew over the Iraqi town of Ramadi and warplanes could be heard screaming overhead as U.S. troops hunted down insurgents in the rebel stronghold on Monday, a Reuters witness said.”

The following specialists are available for interviews:

DAHR JAMAIL
Jamail, who was in Fallujah while it was under siege in 2004, wrote the recent piece “Ramadi: Fallujah Redux.” He said today: “The current situation in Ramadi is akin to the situation in Fallujah in April 2004, which was a preliminary siege to the devastation of November 2004.”

He added: “The recently leaked memo from the U.S. Embassy in Iraq does not simply reveal that the facts on the ground directly contradict what Bush said about Iraq during his visit — many of us have been making that point; it shows that even the U.S. Embassy in Iraq directly contradicts Bush’s pronouncements about Iraq.” See: “Washington Post Obtains Shocking Memo from U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.”

Jamail’s most recent piece quotes Imad Al-Muhammadi, who is with the Iraqi Red Crescent in Ramadi: “Ramadi is a lot more difficult than the Fallujah crisis because people cannot flee to Baghdad and many other cities due to the threat of sectarian death squads.”
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MAURIZIO MASCIA
Currently in Amman, Jordan, Mascia is program manager for the Italian Consortium of Solidarity, which has workers in Iraq, including in Ramadi. He said today that U.S. forces have been blaring on loudspeakers telling people “either to hand over the insurgents present in their districts or to evacuate their houses and flee. They warn the population, mentioning what happened in Fallujah as a consequence of a big insurgent presence. … It is Iraqi civilians who will bear the brunt of the suffering as the U.S. military and the insurgency prepare for a battle.”
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BEAU GROSSCUP
Author of the forthcoming book Strategic Terror: The Politics and Ethics of Aerial Bombardment, Grosscup said today: “The Bush strategy for victory is about to begin. U.S. and Iraqi forces have surrounded the city of Ramadi. Food and water have been cut off. Next is the ‘Shock and Awe’ strategic bombing of the city, to be followed by ‘mop-up’ operations: ground troops, snipers and aerial ‘support.’

“It is the hallowed ‘Fallujah’ model, intended to bring ‘stability’ by flattening the city with civilian death and destruction. It is a ‘clean’ way to victory, one supported by Representative Jack Murtha, who would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq but continue to engage the ‘enemy’ from far away and from 15,000 to 30,000 feet above with air power. By October 2004, this ‘clean war’ had killed close to 100,000 Iraqi civilians and thousands more since. But, as any enthusiast of strategic bombing would say, it is the price of victory and somebody has to make the ultimate sacrifice. Terror from the skies, anyone?”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167