Haifa Street goes from terrorized to tranquil

Stars and Stripes ^ | 2005 Jun 10 | Teri Weaver

[Wiz]

BAGHDAD — A year ago, terror reigned on Haifa Street, a boulevard in western Baghdad just south of the Tigris River.

In one battle early last summer, insurgents took a wounded Iraqi soldier, tied him to a motorcycle and dragged him through the streets, said Lt. Add Al-Kharlim, an Iraqi platoon leader who was there that day.

“The terrorists were powerful,” he said through an interpreter, as he and his soldiers walked the same neighborhood Monday afternoon.

“When I’m walking now, I don’t believe I’m walking on Haifa Street.”

The lieutenant isn’t the only one. Women walk home with groceries. Kids ride bicycles and run from one alley to the next, chasing soldiers and anything else that catches their interest. Men sit at cafés, drinking tea, chatting and reading the newspaper.

A few months ago, insurgents ruled the area, American and Iraqi soldiers say. Snipers sat atop apartment buildings to pick off soldiers and pedestrians. Car bombs and rocket-propelled grenades exploded often. A nearby cemetery and mosque each served as weapons hideouts for “the bad guys,” as the Americans and Iraqis call the insurgents. Few people ventured into the streets.

[goldstategop]

Good news from Iraq you won't see in the legacy media.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)