Battle for Falluja

The latest battle for Falluja has begun. Expect the administration to tout enemy casualty figures as signs of success, oblivious to the fact that they might be making as many enemies as they defeat. Also, bear in mind the political situation in Falluja, which is controlled primarily by means of kinship ties rather than ideology. In addition, note that this is a city where the United States has been been getting on the people's bad side since the first days of the occupation. What all this means is that the U.S. could gain military control of the city, but it would be a tense occupation of a hostile population. If there are more fissures between the shaykhly families and religious leaders than are presently manifest a skillful government could use reconstruction aid to enhance the status of the shaykhly clans and win their support, but even then you'd still have ideological opposition underground.