Word: iraq
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Bombings and casualties are way down; arrests of militants and the number and confidence of the Iraqi security forces are way up. Most of the additional U.S. troops sent to Iraq as part of the surge have gone back home. But how does post-surge Baghdad feel? Over the past four-some years, I've relied on some personal litmus tests to gauge the mood of this city. And by these admittedly unscientific measures, Baghdad feels like it's starting to believe again. Never mind the usual caveats about all that could still go horribly wrong; here's the good...
...TIME's translators in the Iraqi capital, who told me in the summer of 2003, "Let them start selling dog food at Wardah Supermarket; then I'll know life is getting better." Salah had a German shepherd, and dog food had been an unobtainable luxury during the 12 years Iraq had been under U.N. economic sanctions. (See pictures of life returning to the streets of Iraq...
...became ubiquitous, and cell phones soon followed. The shops of Karrada overflowed with big-screen TVs, fridges and air conditioners despite the scarcity of electricity. Upmarket stores suddenly offered such foreign delicacies as chocolates, cornflakes and canned tuna. Then in the summer of 2004, while on a break from Iraq, I got an e-mail from Salah: "Dog food has arrived in Wardah...
...shrine, with its distinctive pair of golden domes, is one of Shi'a Islam's holiest sites, and it draws millions of pilgrims every year, many of them from outside Iraq. The police told me the shrine currently gets 4,000 Iranians a day, and many of them take time to shop for gold jewelery - and, presumably, for lingerie...
...pictures of Iraq's revival...