And so it begins..

The assault on Fallujah has begun. The attack opened with US forces taking the city's hospital (and, incidentally, according to the ITN lunchtime news arresting all "military-aged males", i.e everyone over the age of 14). The New York Times helpfully explains the motivation behind the move:

It was the second time in six months that a battle had raged in Falluja. In April, American troops were closing in on the city center when popular uprisings broke out in cities across Iraq. The outrage, fed by mostly unconfirmed reports of large civilian casualties, forced the Americans to withdraw.

American commanders regarded the reports as inflated, but it was impossible to determine independently how many civilians had been killed. The hospital was selected as an early target because the American military believed that it was the source of rumors about heavy casualties.

"It's a center of propaganda," a senior American officer said Sunday.

Rahul Mahajan provides a rough translation of what this means, "The hospital was shut down because doctors told people how many innocents were killed by the American assault, thus making it a military target. Any pretence of civilization is now gone."

There's a demonstration against the assault on the city this evening in Market Square from 5pm and probably in cities across the country.