Across Baghdad, Security Is Only an Ideal

[bemildred]

Planted the flag of freedom firmly in his ass, he did ...

In the week that ended Sunday, according to figures kept by Western security companies with access to data compiled by the American command, Baghdad was hit by 7 suicide car bombings, 37 roadside bombs and 52 insurgent attacks involving automatic rifles or rocket-propelled grenades. The suicide bombs alone killed at least 60 people and injured 150 others.

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In one Baghdad office, only one of 20 people who were asked said he intended to vote; the others, all citing the fear of being attacked by insurgents, either as they walk to the polls - all civilian vehicle traffic has been banned on election day - or after they return home. American commanders have included Baghdad among four Iraqi provinces where they say security issues pose a major threat to the voter turnout.

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One tentative success story for the Americans has been Sadr City, the Shiite slum district on the capital's northeastern edge that is home to more than two million people. If election turnout is high anywhere in Baghdad, it is likely to be among the slum's dwellers, mostly followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the fiery Shiite cleric who twice last year mounted uprisings against American troops.

After the battering his fighters took in August, Mr. Sadr agreed to a truce, and ordered his men to cooperate with a $160 million American reconstruction effort that employs 18,000 Sadr City residents and involves rebuilding sewers, water pipes, electricity lines and health clinics.

New York Times