Weak states have sometimes to make compromises with their far-flung provinces, a fact that many Iraqis, accustomed to ruthless centralised leadership, find difficult to accept. An instance of this was provided in the way that the Iraqi government managed to end Baghdad's three-month petrol crisis. The shortage was largely caused by smuggling and sabotage. The oil ministry says it solved the problem by hiring truckers from Bayji, a northern oil-refining town described as a "den of insurgents and smugglers". Somehow, the Bayjians seem to get the petrol through.
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