Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has chosen. He has chosen not to act against Islamist militants and their tribal allies in Fallujah. He has, however, chosen to continue to lay siege to the city. The siege has resulted in severe supply shortfalls and civilian casualties. Al-Maliki's approach seems odd. Why after all would a leader of a country not act to re-establish control of a city? The answer, as with most in Iraq, is politics and what is to gain. Elections are due to be held in Iraq in April and al-Maliki is using all of his cards to lay the platform for his re-election. Anbar, where Fallujah is located, has been a hotbed of anti-Maliki sentiment since 2012. The predominantly Sunni region is opposed to the Shiite prime minister and protests there have threatened to unify the disparate Sunni political groupings. When militants responded to the government quashing of Sunni anti-government protests in Ramadi in December 2013, al-Maliki deployed additional military units to Anbar. He was too late to prevent the capture of Fallujah; however, he moved quickly against militants in Ramadi and has re-established control there. Al-Maliki also ordered the military to surround Fallujah and has appealed to locals to rise up against the militants. By adopting this approach he hoped to divide the Sunni polity and create conditions whereby they would call on him to assist them against the militants. This hasn't happened yet and al-Maliki's gamble now appears to be a long shot which could backfire horribly. Militants have strengthened their position in Fallujah and any assault, should it be ordered, is likely to cost a significant amount in terms of men and material. This will hurt al-Maliki's standing as the protector of Iraq and his re-election run.
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