From the New York Times

In Iraq, New Leadership but Same Reality

NY Times reports (October 1^st): The sound of explosions from the Green Zone across the river is a familiar sound to anyone in Baghdad. In the bad old days you could set your morning alarm clock by the pre-dawn barrage. But since 2008 you could go for months without hearing the “Duck and Cover” tannoy.

A powerful cocktail of factors is behind the general fall in violence since 2007: the Sunni Awakening; the American troop surge; war fatigue; Sunni reconciliation to the electoral process; the growth of Iraq’s security forces and a sustained campaign to arrest and kill Shiite death squads.

But the rockets are back now, with Shiite militias the suspects. American commanders say that there were about 60 attacks on the airport and Green Zone in July and August, and 23 in September.

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/in-iraq-new-leadership-but-same-reality/?ref=world