The Guardian newspaper on Monday had a must-read commentary by Madeleine Bunting on the silencing of all independent voices in preparation for the assault on Fallujah.
Assaults on cities serve symbolic purposes: they are set showpieces to demonstrate resolve and inculcate fear. To that end, large numbers of casualties are required: they are not an accidental byproduct but the aim. That was the thinking behind 9/11, and Falluja risks becoming a horrible mirror-image of that atrocity.