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I would say that violence levels in Iraq turned around when Sunnis, tired of the insurgent violence, decided to take security in their own hands and form militias of their own to combat the insurgents. These were not US created, but the US decided to bankroll them.
The Shiite majority government distrusts these "awakening" groups (though they do see the short-term security benefits of these groups fighting the insurgents, and are bankrolling them as well). The question now is whether the Sunni awakening groups will actually ever disband. The Shiite's are afraid that, long-term, this will give the Sunni opposition a para-military lever, outside of national government control.
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