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Rice checks on Baghdad security crackdown

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Saturday to assess the security crackdown there.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Rice discussed security and reconstruction in the war-ravaged nation. She also met with U.S. and other Iraqi officials, an embassy spokesman said.

Rice then traveled on to Jerusalem for a series of meetings with leaders from the region. (Full story)

Rice said she had been told the Iraqis are "doing the job alongside their coalition counterparts and they are off to a good start." (Watch Rice praise the Iraqi prime minister's leadership )

She further said that the security plan, which primarily targets militant factions in Baghdad, is "just beginning to unfold" and will grow over time.

Critics have questioned whether an al-Maliki-backed government crackdown on insurgents can be successful when the prime minister has received substantial support from firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army.

Asked if the new security initiatives would merely push insurgents underground until troops left, Rice said she would not be disappointed if "militias decide to stand down and stop killing innocent Iraqis."

How Iraqis use that "breathing space" is what's important, she added.

Speaking Saturday to U.S. mission personnel in Baghdad, Rice made reference to the domestic debate over the war.

Rice said Americans appreciate their fellow citizens' efforts in Iraq regardless of what they think of Bush administration policies there.

"I know that a lot's going on in Washington and that you're hearing it," she said. "A lot's going on because we are a great democracy, and people have their views and they're going to express them."

"People know what you're doing and it's appreciated across the board. I don't care what people think of the policies; it's appreciated across the board."

In Washington, Democratic leaders failed Saturday to bring to the Senate floor a resolution denouncing Bush's plan to boost troop levels in Iraq. (Full story)

The two-sentence resolution, which passed the House on Friday with backing from 17 Republicans, says Congress supports the military but disapproves of Bush's plan.

Rice's visit to Iraq comes as seven people were killed by dual car bombs in a crowded market in Kirkuk, about 150 miles north of Baghdad.

Kirkuk police officials said at least 83 civilians were wounded in the blasts, which went off in quick succession.

The city of Kirkuk is a major oil center and has a mixed population of Turkmens, Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Arabs.

Bush talks with Iraqi prime minister

Al-Maliki and Bush talked Friday via closed-circuit satellite TV about security in Baghdad and the rest of the country.

Bush told reporters Friday he was pleased that al-Maliki is "meeting benchmarks that he had set out for his government," including moving more Iraqi troops into Baghdad.

A U.S. Army commander in Baghdad said Friday that he has seen a reduction of violence since the crackdown began.

But Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commanding general of Multi-National Division Baghdad and the 1st Cavalry Division, said he expects the militant fighters to study and react to the security plan. He promised trying days ahead.

"We believe, there's no question about it, that many of those extremists are laying low, watching to see what it is we do and how we do it," Fil said.

The tension between militants and troops has generated "an air of suspense throughout the city," Fil said.

One of the hallmarks of life in Baghdad is the deadly suicide attack or car bombing. Baghdad has been rocked by spectacular car bomb attacks killing scores of people at markets.

Fil said that Iraqi and U.S. troops are making adjustments that he hopes will protect marketplaces and other spots where lines form and people gather.

In the last couple of days, he said, a pedestrian-only zone was formed at the city's largest market and the same is soon to be done around at least six downtown markets. That effort then will be expanded to other parts of the city.

Other developments

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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