It is too late for steps that might have been taken to reduce
tensions before the elections. Any lasting solution requires addressing
the deeper roots of Sunni alienation in a country increasingly gripped
by sectarian tension. ISIL’s rise is a symptom, not the main cause, of
the poor governance that is the principal reason for Iraq’s instability.
The government, UN and U.S. should treat ISIL differently from the
military council and Falluja as a whole, rather than bundling them
together in an indiscriminate “war on terror”.
-- International Crisis Group's "Iraq: Falluja's Faustian Bargain."