Maliki Hails Lull in Violence

summarized article by Ernesto Londoro, Washington Post Staff Writer

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talked to President Bush today concerning the new security plan that has been established in Baghdad and around Iraq to help quell the rash of recent sectarian violence "has achieved fabulous success." The three-day old measure involves a coalition of Iraqi and U.S. that have been sweeping through the city to root out the insurgents and bring back a sense of order. Little resistance has been offered to this point in those missions, and other aspects of the mission include more enforcement of civilians possessing weapons and making the borders more strict between Iran and Syria. U.S. Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad, was much more cautious in his approach towards the new plan, saying that the enemy could be taken a break from militant action in an effort to size up where the new gaps are in the security of Iraq. From what it sounds like, Maliki is trying to save face here and be very upbeat about the situation to bring more positive sway to his side of the Iraq fight. The move is very smart because it starts to instill confidence in the civilians on the ground, but you have to really hope that his claims are legitimate. The U.S. General sounds much more realistic about the situation, but that could just be a result of his fear at what could happen next.