Here’s an interesting juxtaposition of articles that came over the news service I read within minutes of one another:
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) – Two months after U.S. Marines pulled out, residents of Fallujah feel safe again, sleeping on their roofs to escape the heat without fear of the once-constant nighttime gunbattles, and traveling the streets without worrying they could be stopped or detained.
Fallujah, they say, is savoring its most peaceful spell in more than a year. U.S. forces camped on the city’s outskirts say they want to return to help out, but no one here is interested……
U.S. Airstrike in Fallujah Kills 14
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A U.S. airstrike Sunday on a Fallujah neighborhood previously targeted by American forces destroyed a house and killed 14 people, hospital and local officials said.
Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s office said he had given the go-ahead for the attack. U.S. officials declined to provide details of the strike.
I guess, considering the history of the American Occupation forces’ violent relationship with the people of Fallujah, having a house bombed every now and then could be said to be relatively peaceful.