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A military clampdown is reducing violence in Baghdad. The effort to reduce sectarian violence may be key to the future of Iraq:
U.S. commanders have said the clampdown -- which has put an additional 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces on the city's streets -- has produced a sharp decline in violence in some deadly Sunni and Shi'ite neighbourhoods.
"THE BATTLE OF BAGHDAD"
In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad repeated statements made by Iraqi and U.S. leaders that the operation to pacify Baghdad was a make-or-break mission.
"The battle of Baghdad will determine the future of Iraq, which will itself go a long way to determining the future of the world's most vital region," Khalilzad wrote.
