Word: als
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...aftermath of the battle for Basra, the mood was quieter in Iraq as the two main contenders took pains to maintain the relative calm since the fighting stopped. The government forces of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Mahdi Army of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr kept gingerly away from each other. Throughout Baghdad and Basra on Friday, there was only sporadic violence, with attacks targeting Iraqi military units and the police...
Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh demurred, explaining to TIME: "We are giving armed individuals one more chance to hand over their weapons, giving them a chance not to break the law." He would not comment on what motivated Maliki's latest move. But the office of Moqtada al-Sadr had complained multiple times of government violations of the terms of last week's negotiated truce, and hinted at the potential for a relapse if those terms are not respected...
...Iraqi government) from the men they once hoped to kill. They are nominally under American supervision but increasingly operate with a high degree of autonomy. The Sahwa are one part vigilante and two parts mafiosi, but like the walls, they too serve a purpose. In Sahwa-protected neighborhoods like al-Dora, Adhamiyah and Amariyah, sectarian killings are way down...
...perhaps the most remarkable change of all is in how Baghdadis view the U.S. military presence. A year ago, Hammadi was in a minority: most Iraqis living outside the Green Zone saw the Americans as the main cause of their country's problems. Now, says Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, all the credit for the decline in violence is going to the U.S. military: "People think the Americans are like Superman, who can do anything...
...mixed one--he suggests that despite improvements in the security situation, the furies that were loosed during the sectarian war of 2006 have not been tamed. One thing that hasn't changed in Baghdad is the commitment of our Iraqi staff there, marshaled by the indomitable bureau manager Ali al-Shaheen. They are the front lines of support for our rotating cast of reporters: photographers Yuri Kozyrev and Franco Pagetti and correspondents Brian Bennett, Mark Kukis, Charles Crain and Abigail Hauslohner...