The Falluja you see on TV night after night is not the real Falluja, according to an Army chaplain now serving in Iraq.

Cpl. Will McDermott, front, from Phoenix, Ariz and other Marines from the 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes in Fallujah, Iraq Thursday, April 22, 2004. (AP Photo/John Moore)

In a letter in the current Weekly Intelligence Notes published by the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, the writer asks why this troubled city is on the news every night. His answer: "Because it is one of the few places in all of Iraq where trouble exists."

He goes on to note that while Iraq has 25 million people and is the size of California, Falluja and surrounding towns total just 500,000 people. "Do the math: that's not a big percentage of Iraq. How many people were murdered last night in L.A.? Did it make headline news? Why not?"

According to the writer, the Coalition isn't alone in having trouble with Falluja. Saddam, he says "could not and did not control Falluja."

Instead, Saddam "bought off those he could, killed those he couldn't and played all leaders against one another. It was and is a 'difficult' town. Nothing new about that.

"What is new is that outside people have come in to stir up unrest. How many are there is classified, but let me tell you this: there are more people in the northeast Minneapolis gangs than there are causing havoc in Falluja. Surprised?"

In light of all this, why, he asks is Falluja getting such massive media coverage? He goes on to explain that "the major news outlets have camera crews permanently posted in Falluja."

U.S Army military policemen Cpt. Kurt Barclay from Ridgeway, PA, right and Sgt. 1st Class Bernard Grenier from Hermitage, PA assist a sick Iraqi woman at a U.S. military checkpoint in Fallujah, Iraq Thursday, April 22, 2004. The woman wanted to return to her home in Fallujah, but civilians were not allowed to return Thursday, so she was taken to the nearby Jordanian hospital. (AP Photo/John Moore)

As a result, if terrorists from outside Iraq are looking for air time to promote their cause, where would they go to terrorize, bomb, mutilate and destroy, knowing their atrocities will be broadcast around the world instantly? The answer: "Falluja."

That being the case, why does the situation seem to be getting worse?

Iraq, ruled by the socialist Ba’ath party, became a welfare state under Saddam. "If you cared about your welfare, you towed the line or died. The state did your thinking and your bidding. Want a job? Pledge allegiance to the Ba’ath party. Want an apartment, a car, etc? Show loyalty. Electricity, water, sewage, etc. was paid by the state. Go with the flow: life is good. Don't and you're dead. Now, what does that do to initiative? drive? industry?"

Thanks to this sordid history, when we came along and locked up their sugar daddy we gave the people "the toughest challenge in the world; freedom. You want a job? Earn it! A house? Buy it or build it! Security? Build a police force, army and militia and give it to yourself. Risk your lives and earn freedom.

"The good news is that millions of Iraqis are doing just that, and some pay with their lives. But many, many are struggling with freedom (just like East Germans, Russians, Czechs, etc.) and they want a sugar daddy, the U.S.A., to do it all. We refuse. We don't want to be plantation owners. We make it clear we are here to help, not own or stay. They get mad about that, sometimes."

Despite all this, the writer says in Falluja, "the supposed hotbed of dissent in Iraq, countless Iraqis tell our psy-opers they want to cooperate with us but are afraid the thugs will slit their throats or kill their kids. A bad gang can do that to a neighborhood and a town. That's what is happening here."

Adding to the problem is the military situation: the largest battle hand-off in recent American history with the Army "passing the baton to the Marines in this area.

There is uncertainty among the populace and misinformation being given out by the bad guys. As a result there is insecurity and the bad guys are testing the resolve of the Marines and indirectly you, the American people.

"The bad guys are convinced that Americans have no stomach for a long haul effort here. They want to drive us out of here and then resurrect a dictatorship of one kind or another."

He concludes by asking "what do we do?" and answers "Stay the course. The Marines will get into a battle rhythm and, along with other forces and government agencies, they will drive the thugs across the border and set the conditions for the Fallujans to join the freedom parade or rot in their lack of initiative.

"Either way, the choice will be theirs. The alternative? Turn tail, pull out and leave a power vacuum that will suck in all of Iraq's neighbors and spark a civil war that could make Rwanda look like a misdemeanor.

"Hey, America, don't go weak kneed on us: 585 dead American's made an investment here. That's a whole lot less than were killed on American highways last month. Their lives are honored when we stay the course and do the job we came to do; namely, set the conditions for a new government and empower these people to be the great nation they are capable of being."