In the Former Cradle of Iraq's Insurgency, a U.S. Military Base Prepares to Close
FALLUJAH, IRAQ— Anbar Province has been the site of some of the Iraq war's darkest episodes, but in a sign of how much violence has dropped here, one of the main U.S. bases is closing its gates.
Camp Fallujah, the sprawling, 2,000-acre facility located just outside the city, will be fully stripped of U.S. equipment in February. The U.S. command here will depart on November 14, leaving behind a skeleton crew to clean up.
It's bittersweet for many of the marines, some of whom have spent more time within the barbed wire and concrete perimeter over the past few years than they have in their homes stateside.
Anbar was the cradle of the Sunni-led insurgency that plagued U.S. forces for the first four years of the conflict. In 2004, four contractors were killed and mutilated, their bodies set afire and strung from a bridge. The next year, marines killed 24 civilians in the city of Haditha. In nearby Fallujah, marines fought two of the largest battles of the war, their bloodiest urban combat since Vietnam.
Today, the Sunni-dominated province is peaceful enough that it's time to shift more responsibility to the Iraqis, Marine commanders say.
The number of marines in Anbar won't decline—at least not yet—but the closing is symbolic of what the commanding general here calls the "last 10 yards of the mission." Control of the province writ large was transferred to the government of Iraq in September as the number of violent incidents hovers around 10 per week, down from dozens per day at the height of the insurgency.
Before the U.S. invasion, the site of the military camp was once home to Mujaheddin-e-Khalq, a military group armed with tanks and artillery that Saddam Hussein used for years to keep order in Fallujah. For another few weeks, it's home to Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commander of forces in the coalition's operating area of western Iraq, a command that will relocate next month.
Kelly says that the dramatic improvement in security in the past 12 months means that the camp can be shifted to Iraqi control. "The need for a base as large as Camp Fallujah has passed," he says.
The dusty desert camp once housed some 8,700 soldiers, contractors, and other assorted personnel. About 4,500 of those troops remain.
"It will still be a functional base when we leave it, but what happens to it after that is up to the Iraq government," says Maj. James Gladden, 34, who is in charge of day-to-day camp operations. The marines call him the "mayor."
Gladden, a Westport, Conn., native, is also in charge of demilitarizing the facility, which means taking away the power station, offices, concrete walls, and other property of the U.S. government. The helicopter landing zone will also disappear, and there will be some environmental cleanup.
A water system that includes a 6.5 million-gallon lake will remain, as will the 200 permanent buildings within the walls. A wastewater treatment plant will also stay behind. "It took us five years to build it up, and it's coming down in six months," says Master Gunnery Sgt. Ray Sifuentes, 47, an engineer who oversees elements of the demilitarization process.
But the future is still uncertain for Anbar province and Camp Fallujah. The Shiite-dominated Iraqi government in Baghdad has shown little enthusiasm for Sunni Anbar, and the province's calls for more resources from the central government often go unanswered.
The violence, which has abated, could easily flare up again, commanders say.
Iraqi government delegations have visited the base twice in the past year, says Gladden, weighing different options for its future use. Those plans fell through, and the future is unclear.
"If you ask me," says one American commander, "I bet it'll be looted and everything worth taking will be carted away."
Reader Comments
Regarding the reference made to the PMOI “Before the U.S. invasion, the site of the military camp was once home to Mujaheddin-e-Khalq, a military group armed with tanks and artillery that Saddam Hussein used for years to keep order in Fallujah…”
1. This site was not a military site; rather it was the logistical base of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) and was named ‘Bagherzadeh-1’ and ‘Bagherzadeh-2’ (including a female hospital) and was used for services.(enclosure no. 1)
The PMOI never interfered in Iraq’s internal affairs whatsoever; neither in Fallujah, nor any other place. These allegations are fabricated by the Iranian regime used to justify its terrorist attacks against the PMOI.
2. Following the war in 2003, the Iranian regime changed the course of its falsifications against the PMOI. This time, instead of accusations such as cooperation with Saddam Hussein in killing the people of Fallujah, the regime raised the issue of PMOI’s cooperation with U.S. military forces. Under a false title “presence of mercenaries of Monafeqin [meaning hypocrites, mullahs’ pejorative term for the Mojahedin] side by side U.S. marines in attacks on Fallujah” regime’s media wrote: “More than 200 commandos supported by Israeli war pilots as well as at least 50 mercenaries of the Monafeqin accompany the U.S. army in attacks against Fallujah”. (Fars, Iran’s state- run news agency)
3. This site (like other sites of the PMOI) was constructed totally by the PMOI and at its expense between 1996 and 1998; all documents in this regard are available. (some documents are enclosed as example).
4. Prior to the War 2003, PMOI’s military sites were located in eastern and southeastern areas in Iraq and close to Iran’s border; the locations of all of them were announced and registered by the media. They were visited by foreign reporters and political and human rights personalities time and again; they also enjoyed full independence as a foreign territory (similar to foreign embassies).
5. In January 2006, more than 12,000 Iraqi jurists, in light of their investigation about 20 years of the PMOI’s presence in Iraq, declared their readiness to defend the rights of the PMOI in any court and testified that “The PMOI has maintained a humanitarian and helpful relationship with the Iraqi people. Their calm, co-existence and friendly relationship with the Iraqi people has continued during the past three years. …The PMOI has never interfered in Iraq's internal affairs and such claims are sheer lies fabricated by the Iranian regime to ruin the image of its opposition and alternative”. (New York Times, January 2006)
Also, 5.2 million of Iraqi people with a high percentage of Al-Anbar province and Fallujah, in a declaration, expressed their support for the PMOI and announced: "The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran came to Iraq in 1986 with the aim of establishing democracy in their homeland, Iran. They have had absolutely no role in the internal affairs of Iraq and no one among the people of Iraq, including Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs, Kurds, etc. have ever experienced anything except decency and compassion from them. The solidarity of various social strata of the people of Iraq with this organization best attests to this truth." (The Washington Times 22 June 2006)
6. In June 2008, three million of Iraqi Shiites expressed their abhorrence of the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq which was reported by international media. .(enclosure no. 2)
7. Restating the allegations of the mullahs’ terrorist regime against its democratic opposition emboldens the Iranian regime to conduct its terrorist activities against the PMOI, and also undermines the credibility of your reputable website. Therefore, we request you to publish this response and omit the relevant paragraph from your report to preserve your journalistic credibility.
Best regards,
Shahriar Kia
PMOI – Ashraf
Iraq
Sad to say goodbye
I have many fond memories of this place. From riding the camp bus to evening strolls around the detainee facility, I will always remember Camp Fallujah. It is sad to see it get turned back. Kind of bittersweet, it means the mission in Iraq is drawing to a close, but for us who called CF home for so long it is sad to see it go. I certianly won't miss the smoke from the trash fires and the stench of the sewage pond though!
Just walking away?
Surely Iraq and USA could get their heads together and find a way to use the base, not simply to walk away and leave it to looters. Do we ever learn? Do the Iraqis ever learn?
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