Maliki takes blame for delay / Would curfew help?

"Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that his government had stumbled in its efforts to carry out a new security plan in Baghdad and that the delays and mounting violence were hurting its credibility with the Iraqi people.
. . . Pressure is increasing on the Maliki government to show signs of progress on the security plan that was announced more than a month ago, especially after three weeks of bloody violence that has killed 3,000 civilians.
. . . The stepped up pace of the violence against Shiites since the plan was announced, which American and Iraqi officials say is part of a strategy by Sunni insurgents to undermine the government, has further convinced many Shiites that the Iraqi security forces are hapless.
. . . American officials have defended the pace of the operation, emphasizing that it involves a rolling buildup of forces that will take time." [1]

Would a curfew help minimize the violence until the surge takes effect?

source
[1] Santora, Marc. (The New York Times). Iraqi Premier Admits Errors in Introducing Security Plan in Baghdad. February 7, 2007.

posted: friday, february 9, 2007, 9:31 PM ET

tags: iraq maliki surge