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WOLF BLITZER: Iraqi
civilians also among the dead today -- 33 of them
killed. Amid this violence, an assessment of Iraq's
security that some are questioning.
And joining us now from Baghdad, our correspondent,
Michael Ware. Michael, over the weekend, a statement
coming from the prime minister's office, Nuri
Al-Maliki saying the new security plan being
implemented, in his words, has been "a dazzling
success during its first days."
Do you see evidence of a dazzling success?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly not
yet, Wolf, not with multiple car bombings still going
off.
There has been a decline or a decrease in particular
types of violence in particular areas. But to be able
to be in a position to call this a dazzling success
is far more ambitious of the prime minister, Nuri
Al-Maliki, than even the American commander in
control of Baghdad.
The commander of the 1st Calvary Division on the
weekend noted the decrease, the lull in particularly
sectarian violence. The numbers of tortured and
executed bodies showing up on the streets of the
capital each morning are certainly down.
But even the American general said it's way too early
to tell if this is a trend.
Indeed, it fits into a pattern that we've seen many
times before. As the general pointed out, whenever
the U.S. military changes tactics, whenever there's a
new step up, whenever anything changes, the enemy --
be it the Shia militias or the Sunni insurgents --
more often than not, sit back or they lay low and
watch. They think, they adapt and then they change
their tactics and strike back.
Certainly what we're seeing now is a war holding its
breath -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Who's the audience, do you think, that Nuri
Al-Maliki is addressing when he speaks of a "dazzling
success?" Are they Iraqis? The international
community? The American public? Who is he trying to
impress?
WARE: Well, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has a lot
of people to please. And it's impossible to please
everybody, clearly.
Now, he's obviously trying to address a domestic
constituency that's been living with this violence
for longer than they care to remember, and they just
want it to end. They're looking for him to deliver on
security.
Now, these people know that it just ain't so. They're
still living it. The marketplaces are still being hit
with car bombs.
Even though the number of bodies showing up each
morning as a result of sectarian violence is down,
the bombs are still going off. There's still the
chatter of machine gun fire. There are still attacks
going on here in the capital of Baghdad, but Nuri
al-Maliki needs people to believe that things are
more secure.
He also needs the Bush administration to believe
this. As President Bush has outlined I think
relatively clearly, this is Prime Minister Maliki's
last roll of the dice. He very much needs to make it
so. So he's got a lot audiences he's trying to keep
happy here.
BLITZER: Michael Ware in Baghdad for us.
Michael, thanks.
WARE: Thank you, Wolf.