OPTIMISM: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi troops, acting on their own, could re-establish order in Iraq in six months. In an interview with Reuters, the Shiite prime minister also said the greatest threat in Iraq is “Al Qaeda and the Saddam [Hussein] Baathists”–predominantly Sunni groups. The comment marked a split with U.S. authorities, who have identified Shiite-dominated death squads as the greatest challenge.
NOTIFICATION: The U.S. military says it will review the way American officials inform the Iraqi government about raids by coalition forces. The announcement came after al-Maliki criticized an American-backed operation against a Shiite militia enclave.
PROGRESS: U.S. military spokesman Gen. William Caldwell said Baghdad’s murder rate has eased since the end of Ramadan, possibly because of the large deployment of American troops in the capital, some of whom are searching for a missing U.S. soldier.
IRAQI RAID: Iraqi forces in Hillah, south of the capital, detained 11 suspected members of a murder and kidnapping cell that had targeted Iraqi and U.S. troops with mortars and roadside bombs, the U.S. military said.
