NYT: Troops Cut Death, but Not Fear, in a Bloody Baghdad Neighborhood

[wellst0nev0ter]

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 1 — Three weeks after American and Iraqi troops began searching, fortifying and patrolling Dora, one of Baghdad’s bloodiest neighborhoods, the odor of death on the streets has eased. After 126 bodies surfaced in Dora in July, only 18 turned up in August, according to United States military figures. Killings, most often Sunni against Shiite or vice versa in this mixed neighborhood, dropped as well: 14 were reported last month, down from 73 in July.

But in a country long on disappointment and short on hope, Dora represents only the embryo of progress. It was the first of several violent neighborhoods covered by a new Baghdad security plan — which seeks to create walled-in sanctuaries where economic development can grow in an environment of safety — and American and Iraqi officials are still struggling to make residents feel safe enough to let their children play in the streets.

<snip>

Most of those deaths occurred in areas without a reinforced military presence. Yet the challenge for American and Iraqi officials lies in spreading security to additional trouble spots without letting Dora slide back into lawlessness. American generals admit that lasting progress will be hard to achieve.

<snip>

After two roadside bombs exploded recently in the neighborhood, on streets ringed by checkpoints, Mr. Mayahi worried that the additional security precautions were beginning to break down.

“Where did they get their weapons?” he asked. “How did they get them into the neighborhood with all the extra protection?”

“If the Americans leave, it will go back to killing in the streets,” he said. “It will be civil war.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/world/middleeast/04dora.html?ex=1315022400&en=91056f1ff6874b1a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Whack-a-mole, Baghdad version.

[Supersedeas]

1. even with all the extra protection--preparations for new violence prevails