On the outskirts of Fallujah, the commander of the Fallujah liberation operations, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, stood smiling and surrounded by troops from the Counterterrorism Service. He talked to them about the city, long touted as impregnable to any outside force. His men laughed heartily and shared stories of the storming of the city.
He exchanged bits of conversation with them, agreeing with some and disagreeing with others. He joked with them all, as they stood by him taking pictures. Since the Fallujah offensive was launched, social networking sites have been awash with smiling selfies showing Iraqi army soldiers and members of the Federal Police and Counterterrorism Service standing next to Saadi.