Tribal fighters patrol Fallujah streets on Jan. 5 as the Iraqi government faces off against al-Qaeda forces.
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A future threat is not enough to change the war-weary politics of Washington right now, however. Congress and most Americans oppose direct intervention in Syria, and the White House rules out any American strikes against ISIS in Iraq. "This is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis," Secretary of State John Kerry declared after Fallujah fell. Instead, the Obama Administration is pushing to send more sophisticated arms to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is accelerating delivery of weapons already purchased by the Iraqis, including Hellfire missiles and dozens of surveillance drones.
Al-Maliki, for his part, has urged Fallujah's residents to oust ISIS themselves, a cruel joke for those facing the war-hardened Baghdadi and his troops. For now, it appears Americans and Iraqis alike can only hope that no new tragedies emerge to haunt them from the dusty stones of Fallujah.
--With reporting by michael crowley and mark thompson/washington and rami aysha/beirut