Iraq: The battle for Fallujah shows the US needs Iran
Iran, the US and Iraqi militias are locked in a menage-a-trois that now defines the region's geopolitics.
While Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi recently declared victory in Fallujah, there are still pockets held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in the city. Regardless of these final military operations, there are two significant political dynamics that have been established.
First, the United States has had an uneasy relationship with the Iraqi Shia militias, otherwise known as the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMUs), since it began its air campaign against ISIL, yet close to exactly two years into conflict, it is these Iranian-sponsored forces that have become integral to Washington's efforts.
Second, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in his capacity as a respected cleric, has become embedded in Iraq's domestic politics. Yet the battle for Fallujah shows how he has leveraged his position to dictate military strategy and tactics.
Iraqi forces' lorries advance during a military operation in western Fallujah [EPA]
