Apart from the reinforcement of US troops, the uprising of Sunnis against al-Qaida and ceasefire announced by the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also contributed to the improved security.

However, a spate of major blasts since the beginning of the year generated concerns that an attack spree could make a comeback though the US military dismissed the notion that those incidents represent a trend.

The United States urged the Iraqi leaders to cash in on the improved security to give the national reconciliation a strong push.

The lack of security and efficient governance has considerably hindered the reconstruction effort.

Sunni Iraqis, together with the party led by Sadr, and a secular camp headed by former interim government Prime Minister, dropped out of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government last year, leaving nearly half of the portfolios vacant.

Although some important laws have been passed since January, the United States seems to think the process falls far behind its expectations.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, top US commander in Iraq, said in an interview with Washington Post last Thursday that "no one" in the US and Iraqi governments "feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation," or in the provision of basic public services.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2008)