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The article focuses on the decline in violence in Iraq in the second half of 2007. Iraqi and U.S. officials in that country state that the decline stems from three factors, the number of Sunni insurgents who have begun cooperating with U.S. troops rather than fighting them, the halt of military action by the Shiite militia led by Moktada al-Sadr, and the increase of the U.S. forces. All of these developments are subject to sudden change. U.S. troop levels will decline in 2008.

The article reports that Abdul al-Rishawi, the Sunni tribal sheikh who aligned himself with U.S. forces in Anbar Province, Iraq, was assassinated in a bomb attack. Al-Rishawi had met with U.S. President George W. Bush in September, 2007 during Bush's visit to Iraq. His death comes as a setback to the U.S. alliance with Sunni tribal leaders in the region, a policy often cited as one of the few U.S. successes in the Iraq War.

The article reports that U.S. military forces in Iraq have begun arming Sunni Arab groups that promise to fight groups linked to Al-Qaeda. Some of the Sunni groups have been responsible for attacks on U.S. troops during the Iraq war. U.S. commanders acknowledge the risks involved in arming potential enemies, but think the chance to exploit the rift between native Sunnis and the Al-Qaeda militants, many from other countries, should not be missed.

This article reports that the largest bloc of Sunni Arabs in the Iraqi Parliament, the Iraqi Consensus Front, is threatening to withdraw its ministers from the Shiite-dominated cabinet in frustration over the failure of the government to address Sunni concerns. United States President George W. Bush has invited Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi to Washington in an effort to forestall the action. Two weeks ago six cabinet members left the already weakening the government.

The American military said Wednesday that it was closely following the arrests of 15 leaders of the Awakening Councils, plus the threatened arrests of five others, but insisted that the detentions were not part of a deliberate Iraqi government campaign against these groups, which are mostly Sunni and include many former insurgents. Military officials say their fear is that the arrests, while relatively few so far, have created a public perception that the government is cracking down on the groups, which could undermine the Awakening program, widely credited with helping to end the insurgency in much of Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]