Operation Phantom Fury: The Assault and Capture of Fallujah, Iraq

320 Pages·2009·48.74 MB·english

by  Dick Camp

O P E R A T I O N
PHANTOM FURY
THE ASSAULT AND CAPTURE
OF FALLUJAH, IRAQ
Dick Camp
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777....iiiinnnndddddddd iiiiiiiiiiii PPaaggee::iiiiii 8888////11113333////00009999 1111::::55557777::::44447777 PPPPMMMM
First published in 2009 by Zenith Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing
Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
Copyright © 2009, 2010 by Dick Camp
Hardcover edition published in 2009. Digital edition 2010.
All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the
purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without
prior written permission from the Publisher. The information in this book
is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.
Zenith Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for
industrial or sales-promotional use. For details write to Special Sales
Manager at MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300,
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
To find out more about our books, join us online at www.zenithpress.com.
Digital edition: 978-1-61673-253-0
Hardcover edition: 978-0-7603-3698-4
Printed in China
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Camp, Richard D.
Operation Phantom Fury : the assault and capture of
Fallujah, Iraq /Dick Camp. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7603-3698-4 (hb w/ jkt)
1. Fallujah, Battle of, Fallujah, Iraq, 2004.
2. United States. Marine Corps—History—Iraq War, 2003– I. Title.
DS79.766.F3C366 2009
956.7044'342—dc22
2009020013
Maps by: Lt. Col. R.L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret.), and Patti Isaacs
Designer: Diana Boger
Cover Design: Brenda C. Canales
On the front cover:
Top: Marines of the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) company—
as part of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines—use explosives to open a metal gate
to a house as they search houses for insurgents on November 22, 2004,
in Fallujah, Iraq. Scott Peterson/Getty Images
Bottom: Defenseimagery.mil 041110-M-2789C-011
On the frontispiece: Defenseimagery.mil 040605-M-4419R-073
On the back cover: Defenseimagery.mil 041110-M-5191K-093
Text Job:01517 Title: Operation Phantom Fury (MBI)
Page:iv
00i_viii_001_312.indd 4 10/2/10 2:18:11 PM
For generations of Marines, when the battle honors
of the Corps are cited—Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima,
Chosin Reservoir, Hue City, Khe Sanh—a new accolade
will be added: Fallujah.
To the warriors—Marines, soldiers, sailors—who upheld the
highest traditions, and to Lt. Col. Joe Cody USMC (Ret), a Marine
for thirty years, 1947–1977. A mustang who went to sea in USS Boxer,
USS Mt. McKinley, and USS Intrepid. A grunt who fought with the
1st Marine Division in Korea and Vietnam and is now
guarding heaven’s streets. Semper Fidelis.
Till the last landing’s made
And we stand unafraid
On a shore no mortal has seen.
Till the last bugle call
Sounds taps for us all
It’s Semper Fidelis, Marine.
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777....iiiinnnndddddddd vvvv PPaaggee::vv 8888////11113333////00009999 1111::::55557777::::44448888 PPPPMMMM

Contents
Prologue 1
Part I Evil Town
Chapter 1 Mean Streets 11
Chapter 2 Bloody Encounters 17
Part II No Happy Endings
Chapter 3 No Better Friend 31
Chapter 4 Back to the Brawl 39
Chapter 5 The Vortex of Violence 49
Chapter 6 Drumbeat for Action 55
Chapter 7 Operation Vigilant Resolve 63
Chapter 8 Political Expediency 79
Chapter 9 Aggressive Defense 89
Chapter 10 A Long, Hot, Dangerous Summer 97
Chapter 11 New Warriors 111
Chapter 12 End of the Experiment 117
Part III Enough Is Enough
Chapter 13 Plan of Attack 123
Chapter 14 Shaping the Battlefi eld 141
Chapter 15 Rules of Engagement 149
Part IV Storming Fallujah
Chapter 16 D-day (November 7) 157
Chapter 17 D+1 (November 8) 169
Chapter 18 D+2 (November 9) 179
Chapter 19 D+3 (November 10) 215
Chapter 20 D+4 (November 11) 233
Chapter 21 D+5 (November 12) 249
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777....iiiinnnndddddddd vvvviiiiiiii PPaaggee::vviiii 8888////11113333////00009999 1111::::55557777::::44448888 PPPPMMMM
Contents
Part V Into the Belly of the Beast
Chapter 22 D+6 (November 13) 261
Chapter 23 D+7 to D+24 (November 14–December 8) 275
Part VI Mop Up
Chapter 24 Parting Shots 289
Appendix A U.S. Commanders in Operation Phantom Fury 297
Appendix B Second Battle of Fallujah Battle Casualties 299
Bibliography 301
Index 305
viii
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777....iiiinnnndddddddd vvvviiiiiiiiiiii PPaaggee::vviiiiii 8888////11113333////00009999 1111::::55557777::::44448888 PPPPMMMM
Prologue
Blackwater Bridge, March 31, 2004
T
he morning traffi c surged along the six-lane divided highway in typical
Iraqi fashion, every driver for himself—blaring of horns, jockeying for
position, ignoring traffi c controls—a hazard to life and limb. A fi ve-vehicle
convoy—three empty Mercedes Benz fl atbed trucks and two Mitsubishi Pajero
sport utility vehicles—struggled to maintain contact in the hodgepodge of cars
and trucks weaving in and out of their motorcade. A checkpoint appeared;
the procession stopped while a bored Iraqi police offi cer cursorily inspected the
vehicle occupants. Th e driver of the lead Mitsubishi, Wes Batalona, an American
employee of Blackwater USA, the security contractor, chatted briefl y with the
offi cer before being allowed to proceed. His passenger, Scott Helvenston, another
Blackwater member and former SEAL, scanned the immediate area, alert for
signs of trouble. Th e three fl atbed trucks with the Mitsubishi bringing up the
rear passed through without stopping.
As the convoy entered Fallujah, it crept along a trash-strewn road bordered
with small one- and two-story cinder-block stores and kebob shops. Hulks of
abandoned and stripped cars littered the street. Th e sidewalks were crowded
with residents, “unemployed men in scruff y dishdashas or old work trousers and
faded shirts, many smoking and most lounging around, with no money, no job,
and no prospects,” according to author Bing West in No True Glory: A Frontline
Account of the Battle of Fallujah. Th e Iraqis stared at the two Mitsubishis, hate
evident on their faces. Occasionally one of the sullen onlookers gestured and
shouted an obscenity.
Th e vehicles proceeded through the center of town, past the mayor’s
complex and police headquarters. Aft er passing through the main intersection,
they turned left and proceeded west toward the Euphrates. Th e heavy traffi c
caused the convoy to become separated. Th e lead sport utility vehicle and two
fl atbeds were in the left lane, while the third fl atbed and the other Mitsubishi
1
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777....iiiinnnndddddddd 1111 PPaaggee::11 8888////11113333////00009999 2222::::00005555::::22227777 PPPPMMMM
Operation Phantom Fury
Downtown Fallujah, looking toward the Brooklyn Bridge to the west. Highway 10 is the six-
lane road in the foreground. Bing West
stayed to the right. A roadblock appeared—a dark Mercedes 300, a tan Opal
sedan, and a white pickup truck with a double cab—forcing the convoy to stop.
Several Iraqi youngsters approached the lead vehicle. Scott Helvenston
rolled down the tinted window and talked briefl y to one of them. Two of the
other boys walked over to a large group of Iraqi men on the sidewalk. Suddenly,
without warning, several armed men ran from the doorways of the shops
and took the rear Mitsubishi under fi re, shattering the side windows. Th e two
American occupants, Mike Teague and Jerry Zovko, were killed instantly. Th eir
vehicle rolled to a stop beside the last fl atbed truck in the convoy.
Wes Batalona grasped what was happening and attempted to make a U-turn
across the median. He gunned the vehicle but was blocked by oncoming traffi c and
raked by a deadly burst of automatic-weapons fi re. His vehicle rear-ended another
and came to a stop. One of the assailants fi lmed the ambush with a video camera.
Th e tape, later shown on Al Jazeera television, showed Batalona slumped to the
right, almost on top of Helvenston. One of the gunmen reached in and grabbed
an M4 carbine that was wedged between Batalona and the door. Another tugged a
weapon free from around Helvenston’s neck. Th e gunmen then fl ed.
A large crowd quickly gathered. It was estimated that more than three
hundred men and boys swarmed around the vehicles chanting anti-American
2
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777__..iinnCCdd22dd..ii nn dd22dd 22 PPaaggee::22 8888////22112233////00009999 9922::::44002255::::00221188 AAPPMMMM
Prologue
Fallujahan residents stare impassively at the camera, while three blue-shirted Iraqi policemen
are in the foreground, one wearing an IP (Iraqi Police) patch on his left sleeve. Bing West
slogans and shouting, “Allahu akbar,” God is great. An account said that one of
the badly wounded occupants staggered from a vehicle and fell to the ground,
where he was kicked, stomped, and stabbed to death. Several Middle Eastern
news crews arrived and began fi lming the mayhem. Th eir arrival seemed to
further incite the crowd. An Iraqi boy threw a jug of gasoline on the vehicles
and set them on fi re, sending a plume of black smoke into the air. When the fi res
died down, the bodies of the slain Americans were pulled from the smoldering
vehicles and desecrated. Two of the charred remains were then dragged behind
a car past hundreds of cheering men to a green trestle bridge on the outskirts of
town and strung up.
Within hours, the shockingly graphic image of cheering Iraqi men, with
the charred bodies hanging from the trestle behind them, appeared on Arab
television. Th e two dominant Arab satellite networks, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera,
broadcast the bloody scene to millions of Arabs throughout the Middle East. Th e
international news organizations picked up the story. Th e grisly photographs
were soon emblazoned “above the fold” in many of the world’s most infl uential
newspapers. In the United States, the three main broadcast networks all began
their Wednesday evening newscasts with video of the grisly aft ermath of
the attack. ABC and CBS television showed the bodies being pulled out of the
burning vehicle, hacked apart by angry Iraqis, dragged behind a car, and strung
up on a bridge. NBC edited the pictures, but the corpses were still visible.
President Bush was reported to be outraged. His press secretary Scott
McClellan said in righteous indignation, “It is off ensive; it is despicable the
continued on page 7
3
Text JJoobb::0011551177 TTiittllee:: OOppeerraattiioonn PPhhaannttoomm FFuurryy ((MMBBII))
00000000iiii____vvvviiiiiiiiiiii____000000001111____333311112222 00001111555511117777__..iinnCCdd22dd..ii nn dd33dd 33 PPaaggee::33 8888////22112233////00009999 9922::::44002255::::33336600 AAPPMMMM