It's Sadr, not the US, who determines violence levels in Iraq

It is indubitable good news that the deaths in Iraq were down in the month of September, but I want to reiterate my point that Moqtada al Sadr has far more to do with the level of violence than US actions or tactics.

If you look back, every significant dip in casualties just happens to coincide with a Sadr proclamation to "pull his forces back" or somesuch.

It is the repeated conceit of many opining on Iraq that the US is driving the situation there rather than the Iraqis themselves.