Is Fallujah Next?

After the combined Iraqi-American pressure on al-Sadr’s criminals in Najaf, after the American and Iraqi success in Samarra, after the apparently-effective strikes on Sadr City and Fallujah, the question has been raised: is Fallujah next for the ground onslaught?

Well, not if Fallujah has a say.

Iraqi insurgents from Fallujah are in intense negotiations with the country’s interim government to hand over control of the city to Iraqi troops, according to representatives of both sides, in hopes of averting a bloody military battle for the city of 300,000 that has become a haven for foreign guerrillas and a symbol of the limits of Baghdad’s authority.

“We have met representatives from Fallujah,” the interim deputy prime minister, Barham Salih, said Wednesday. “We have had detailed discussion with these representatives, and we have agreed on a road map or a framework to facilitate the resolution of this conflict in Fallujah.”

The talks apparently gained momentum Wednesday after the mujaheddin shura — or council of holy warriors — that now governs Fallujah voted overwhelmingly to accept the broad terms demanded by Iraq’s government. By a vote of 10 to 2, the council agreed to eject foreign fighters, turn over all heavy weapons, dismantle checkpoints and allow the Iraqi National Guard to enter the city.

In return, the city would not face the kind of U.S.-led military offensive that reclaimed the central Iraqi city of Samarra from insurgents last week, a prospect that one senior Iraqi official said clearly grabbed the attention of the Fallujah delegation.

U.S. troops would remain outside the city and end the airstrikes that have shaken residential neighborhoods on an almost daily basis in recent weeks, according to one account of the terms now on the table.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Allawi continues a tough-love outreach to Sadr City.

Iraq’s interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, told reporters Wednesday that a committee was being formed to hash out the final terms of a deal to dismantle the Mahdi Army, Sadr’s militia. Allawi’s government, which authorized a U.S. offensive against Sadr’s militia in the southern city of Najaf in August, has been trying to persuade Sadr to join the political process.

“No cease-fire,” Allawi cautioned. “We responded positively to the request of the people of Sadr City. They will surrender their weapons to the authorities. They will dismantle any armed presence in the city. They will respect and abide by the rule of law in the city. They will welcome the police to go back, patrol the streets of the city.”

Peace through strength, in a microcosm.

The international Islamist terrorists should quickly realize that they need something other than status quo Iraqi incidents before Nov. 2 or they are in great danger of losing any homefield advantage. Probably something spectacular. Otherwise, any local support in Iraq is soon going to give way to their closest enemy, the people of Iraq.