U.S. Leverage in Iraq Tested As Fears of Civil War Mount
1/9/14
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from The Wall Street Journal,
1/8/14:

Masked Sunni gunmen in Fallujah demonstrated against Iraq's Shiite-led government on Tuesday. Reuters
Senior U.S. officials, including Vice President Joseph Biden, have urged Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to secure the support of local Sunni leaders before attacking to drive the extremists from Fallujah, which sits in the heartland of Iraq’s Sunni minority. Many Sunni tribal leaders, alienated and angered by Mr. Maliki, have refused.
The standoff tests the U.S.’s remaining leverage in Iraq, which has declined since American forces fought alongside Iraqis to subdue Islamist fighters in Fallujah in two large battles during the nearly decadelong U.S.-led occupation.
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