'No question' violence in Iraq down

BAGHDAD, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A U.S. commander in Baghdad said "there's just no question" violence is down in the Iraqi capital, paving the way for U.S. redeployments to presurge levels.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil said that while 13 percent of Baghdad, including Sadr City and other Shiite areas, remain to be cleared, "there's just no question" that violence is down from June, The New York Times reported Thursday.

"Murder victims are down 80 percent from where they were at the peak" he said. "(Improvised explosive device) attacks are down 70 percent."

Fil credited the declines to measures targeting insurgent funding, a cease-fire by the influential Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr and the increased capability of Iraqi security forces.

Fil said the most important factor attributed to the decline was Iraqis' rejection of "the rule of the gun" citing various responses to sectarian militias, including al Qaida, the Times reported.

Military officials said Iraqi citizens aided by U.S. forces effectively weakened al-Qaida in Mesopotamia. The group is responsible for the majority of suicide bombings, though Fil said they could "re-infect very quickly."

Fil also commented that the mission of U.S. forces in Iraq will transition from one of security to one of reconstruction in 2008.