Heard The Good News From Baghdad?

Washington Post ^ | October 5, 2003 | Vivienne Walt

[Ex-Dem]

BAGHDAD

Wisam Karim stands ankle deep in glass two hours after his hotel has been bombed. He's bracing for a visit to the pregnant widow of the night porter, who was killed when 15 pounds of explosives deposited along the outside wall destroyed several rooms.

Considering this, Karim's assessment of Baghdad these days is not what you would expect. "Things have gotten much, much better recently," says the 42-year-old manager of the Aike Hotel in south Baghdad, which housed the NBC News bureau until the blast 10 days ago. "I'm here 16 hours a day. I see everything going on. I can tell you, things are much better." He waves one arm over his wrecked lobby and says, "We'll fix this in two days."

[Ex-Dem]

She has her fair share of criticism, but considering she's a reporter based in Paris writing for the WP, you have to give her some credit for mentioning the progress.

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[marktwain]

The question is, does she know that she is putting her career in jeopardy?

[aquila48]

I agree. I wouldn't have expected reading this on the WP.

[Levante]

An article one would NEVER see on CNN...

[WOSG]

No, the end of the article has enough criticism for the occupation. Soldiers acting like soldiers, for example. And yet, the key for me is that "things have gotten better in last 2 months - this totally refutes the quadmire thesis. In a few more months, it can be a different story again:

In his office upstairs, Saadon Al-Ubaydi, the general manager appointed in July by U.S. advisers to the Ministry of Culture, discusses plans to stage Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller plays in Arabic -- a stark contrast to the "clowning rubbish" of escapist slapstick that was standard fare for the government-run theater under Saddam Hussein. Ubaydi's thought is interrupted by a loud gunshot from outside his open window. He pauses, and then says: "The atmosphere is a lot more relaxed than even two months ago."

We journalists tend to emphasize Baghdad's lack of security, a story full of its own drama. After months of talking to people in Baghdad, I have finally begun to realize that many complaints are translated in English as "no security." When I probe further, the meanings range from a general unease about the overwhelming transformation underway to actual alarm about violent crime. "Things have really changed since the end of July," says Yassin Tariq Al-Shimari, 42, who sells television sets and refrigerators from a tiny storefront in the shopping district of Karrada. Sitting on the sidewalk outside his store, Shimari says, "In July we saw three or four robberies and killings a day. I don't think I've seen one since July."

That's not to say that the violence isn't real, too. The city -- and Iraq in general -- is still racked by bombs, shoot-outs and hit-and-run ambushes. No insurance company will cover the drivers or their vehicles jamming Baghdad's streets. The rattle of gunfire and low thud of explosions resound long after dark. And despite the shortened curfew, many residents stay indoors at night -- "especially now that they have satellite TV," quips Hussein, the actor.

A few more months of improvement and Baghdad will be safer than DC.

[WOSG]

Good news in Iraq bump.

[El Gato]

A few more months of improvement and Baghdad will be safer than DC.

I believe it may alreday be. And it's certainly safer overall than the "bad" parts of DC. Maybe in part because the peaceable Baghdad residents are allowed to have guns.