First Battle of Fallujah - Legacy

Legacy

The largest combat mission since the declaration of the end of "major hostilities", the First Battle of Fallujah marked a turning point in public perception of the on-going conflict. This was because insurgents, rather than Saddam loyalists, were seen as the chief opponents of U.S. forces. It was also judged by both military and civilian agencies, that reliance upon U.S.-funded regional militias, such as the failed Fallujah Brigade, could prove disastrous. American strategists were mercurial about the outcome of the battle with one writing "the handwriting is on the wall. The Battle of Fallujah was not a defeat—but we cannot afford many more victories like it."

The battle also pushed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi into the public spotlight as the best-known commander of anti-Coalition forces in Iraq, and brought public attention to the concept of a Sunni Triangle.

27 U.S. military personnel were killed in and around Fallujah during the battle, as well as hundreds of Iraqis, both civilians and insurgents. Many of the Iraqis killed were buried inside the city's former football stadium, which became known as the Martyrs' Cemetery.