Initially it seemed a wise tactic for the USMC to negotiate with the leaders of Fallujah. The situation with al-Sadr in Najaf was potentially much more dangerous so putting Fallujah on the back burner was a good choice. However it now appears that they're going to wait out al-Sadr until after June 30 and then presumably the Iraqis will deal with him. So why is the USMC holding back on Fallujah? It's obvious the bad guys are not negotiating in good faith and don't plan on surrendering. It also appears that a significant fraction of Iraq's bad guys are concentrated in Fallujah. It is not in the best interests of Iraq's transition government to have these people loose after June 30. Something doesn't add up here.

Gary