EMBED REPORT:TIME’s PHIL ZABRISKIE witnesses U.S. attacks in Iraq

New York – TIME’s Phil Zabriskie, embedded with the U.S. military, files a detailed report on last week’s counter-insurgency that began at the start of Ramadan “and saw the U.S. military—primarily the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force—move boldly to try to subdue the rebellion raging in Fallujah and Ramadi.“ Despite clear successes, he reports, “the week’s record of strikes and counterstrikes suggests that if, as the young Marine said, the Americans are predators, the prey is dictating the nature of the hunt.”

For radio/tv interviews with PHIL ZABRISKIE from Iraq, contact Jennifer_Zawadzinski@timeinc.com, 212-522-9046

Ramadi was “not the big showdown everyone has been expecting, but rather an attempt to see how the insurgents inside the city would respond. One Marine battle operations officer called it “a dress rehearsal” for the ultimate battle. This was a scouting mission, a risk-filled feint supported by air power, an attempt to get an edge for the eventual showdown,” Zabriskie writes.

“The military gamesmanship in Ramadi and Fallujah gave the U.S. useful information about the insurgents but certainly did not eliminate them,” he reports. “The U.S. believes its Fallujah bombing campaign has killed some top al-Zarqawi operatives, and military officials hope the latest mission will hamper his network’s ability to operate. But the insurgency has shown a clear ability to regenerate itself after losses. And the rebels continue to adapt their tactics, adding TNT to their IEDs, for instance, to make them more lethal. In Ramadi, they have begun attacking more at night; in Fallujah, they have dug into defensive positions.”

In Ramadi, Zabriskie asked U.S. soldiers if they’re in control of the city. “A roomful of grunts responds with phrases like: ‘Oh, f--- no!’).” On the Ramadi operation, launched at 4 a.mSgt. Jose L. Carillo of the 2/5’s Whiskey Company, tells TIME,. “These guys (insurgents) fight when they want to fight, not when we want them to fight.” “They just keep on recruiting. And I don’t mind saying it: we don’t have enough people for what we’re doing.”

“All told, 13 IEDs were detonated in Ramadi Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning,” Zabriskie reports. “The explosions and the chase—it’s not always clear who’s chasing whom—continue into the next day. Two Echo company Marines are killed and one wounded by small arms fire and an RPG attack. By noon on Wednesday, things begin to settle. The Battalion has detained 15 people and seized a weapons cache. The Americans believe they killed 30 to 40 insurgents but can’t say for certain because the insurgents quickly remove their dead and wounded.”

The push on Fallujah was Wednesday, Zabriskie reports. “The nerve center of the jihadist network, the military believes, is just to the west, in an area the Americans dub ‘Queens.’”

“By the end of last week’s mission, Marines and Iraqi soldiers began to relax the checkpoints they had set up around the city,” writes Zabriskie. “U.S. military battle planning officer in Fallujah says the raid left a ‘big intell wake,’ information that will be useful later, he says, when the military moves to retake the city. No one can say when that will be. Corpsmen Scott Pribble, a Navy medic with the 3/5, said before last week’s operation that he hoped he wouldn’t be busy that night. He wasn’t. But when asked about the eventual fight for control of Fallujah, he said, ‘Oh, we’ll be busy then.’”

Contact: Diana_Pearson@timeinc.com, 212-522-0833