And It's 1-2-3 What Are We Fighting For

Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, of the Marine Corps,
giving a pep talk to his troops before the invasion of Falluja.

And the games have begun. G.I.'s Open Attack to Take Falluja From Iraq Rebels

FALLUJA, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 8 - Explosions and heavy gunfire thundered across Falluja on Sunday night and early Monday as American troops seized control of two strategic bridges, a hospital and other objectives in the first stage of a long-expected invasion of the city, the center of the Iraqi insurgency.

Hours earlier, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, faced with an expanding outbreak of insurgent violence across the country, formally proclaimed a state of emergency for 60 days across most of Iraq. The proclamation gave him broad powers that allow him to impose curfews, order house-to-house searches and detain suspected criminals and insurgents.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 American soldiers and marines backed by newly trained Iraqi forces were besieging Falluja for what American commanders said was likely to be a brutal, block-by-block battle to retake control and capture, kill or disperse an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 hard-core insurgent fighters. The battle could prove the most important since the American invasion of Iraq 19 months ago.

As we discussed earlier the Marines say the toll is expected to rival those seen in Vietnam War, and Saudi religious scholars have given their OK to Jihad against Americans.