“Sadr City residents awoke Tuesday to a sight many had not seen in years: Iraqi soldiers deployed in the deepest reaches of the Baghdad district, which is a bastion of militiamen loyal to Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr. U.S. and Iraqi officials declared the operation, which took place after negotiations with Sadr’s followers and met no resistance, a turning point in efforts to restore government authority in areas long controlled by armed factions. … Before dawn Tuesday, columns of Iraqi Humvees and tanks, backed by helicopters, lumbered down streets lined with charred buildings and piles of rubble in a campaign code-named Operation Peace. U.S. forces did not accompany the Iraqi troops.” (05/21/08)