Iraqi and US forces began a security buildup in Baghdad Wednesday in a bid by the newly formed government to control insurgent and sectarian attacks in the capital.

The open-ended clampdown is to be one of the largest security operations in Baghdad since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.

Operation Forward Together, which involves more than 40,000 Iraqi and some 7,200 Coalition forces, is a key test of the promises made by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to end the bloodshed that has taken more than 6,000 lives already this year.

But one day after President Bush made a triumphant surprise visit to Baghdad – meeting Tuesday with a somber-looking Mr. Maliki, who has tried to assert his independence by criticizing some US actions – Iraqis waited anxiously for the crackdown, closing some shops and stocking up on food.

Senior officers said the clashes would probably break out in the Sunni districts that will be main targets of Shiite-led forces.

"Today we are starting to use tanks and armored personnel carriers – we will deal very strongly if [insurgents] resist us," says an Iraqi Army major. "When we enter hot areas, we will try to keep the people safe, to arrest criminals and insurgents," says the major, on duty in northern Baghdad. "But the solution is not in our hands. It is with tribal sheikhs, the clerics, and the people themselves, because they are the root of this problem."

In an acknowledgment of that, Maliki on Wednesday balanced the military effort with the possibility of holding talks with "rebels who are opposed to the political process." Maliki said that "if their hands are not stained with blood, we will open the door to [insurgents] for dialogue."

Maliki called on all factions to "express their support" for the operation, saying that the sole objective is to "protect the lives of the people."

The strategy is to secure roads into the capital, expand the curfew, and hit insurgent hideouts in raids that could prompt US air attacks in support. Heavy-handed raids during a similar operation in May 2005 led to a spike in insurgent attacks.

Iraqi forces are trying to capitalize on the death last week of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the high-profile leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, as well as a squirt of optimism that has come from completing the new government.

"We are expecting that clashes will erupt in predominantly Sunni areas," Maj. Gen. Mahdi al-Gharrawi told the Associated Press. "The terrorists will escalate their violence especially during the first week as revenge for the killing of al-Zarqawi."

The security plan will "enable Iraqis to live in peace in Baghdad," promised Maliki, echoing numerous Iraqi leaders before him. "The raids during this plan will be very tough ... because there will be no mercy toward those who show no mercy to our people."

Iraqis, weary of the constant violence during three years of US occupation and weak Iraqi government, are making preparations. Those in troubled neighborhoods have begun to stock up on food and are moving family members – especially military-age sons – to safer areas. They're also hiding extra guns.

"In this situation, one gun is not enough," says a man called Saif, who lives in a district south of the airport road that is heavily populated by Hussein-era officers, Baathists, and intelligence officials. "Because we don't know who will raid us, we should keep more than one gun."

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