War on Iraq: U.S. Lays Waste to Another Iraqi City

Dear God, when will this carnage stop and when will the criminals who started it be held accountable?

AlterNet: War on Iraq: U.S. Lays Waste to Another Iraqi City:

"Fearful residents are now pouring out of Ramadi after the U.S. military has been assaulting the city for months with tactics like cutting water, electricity and medical aid, imposing curfews, and attacking by means of snipers and random air strikes. This time, Iraqis there are right to fear the worst -- an all-out attack on the city, similar to what was done to nearby Fallujah.

It has always been just a matter of time before the U.S. military would finally get around to destroying Ramadi, the capital city of al-Anbar province. After all, Ramadi is not far from Fallujah, and so similar to Fallujah both tribally and in their disdain towards the idea of being occupied, that many people in Ramadi even refer to Fallujah as 'Ramadi.' I know many people from Ramadi who lost relatives and friends during both U.S. assaults on Fallujah, and the level of anti-American sentiment has always been high there.

By now, we all know the scene when the U.S. military in Iraq decides to attack an entire city ... we've seen this standard operating procedure repeated, to one degree or another, in Haditha, Al-Qa'im, Samarra, parts of Baghdad, Balad, Najaf and Fallujah twice ... so far. The city is sealed for weeks if not months, water and electricity are cut, medical aid is cut, curfews imposed, mobility impaired, air strikes utilized, then the real attack begins. Now in Ramadi, the real attack has begun."