They bravely ran away!
You do know, the point of fighting a war isn't to be brave--it's to win. If retreat makes sense strategically, a good tactician doesn't worry about whether it looks brave. The terrorists have nothing to gain by marching against disciplined troops.
It sure sounds as though al Maliki solved his problem of needing to show support for the effort to secure Baghdad but also not wanting to fight Shi'ite militias by warning the Shi'ite militia leaders to retreat until things in Baghdad cool off.