Baghdad’s Shurja market is open for business.
The capital’s central commercial district, which earlier this year was virtually shut down by repeated car bombings and sniper fire, is now thronging with residents doing last-minute shopping before this week’s Eid holiday.
“For six months, not a day passed without my seeing a body near my shop,” says Qassem, who sells curtains. “But today, business is good and security is good and, God willing, things will get even better.”
Six months after the “surge” of US troops finished deploying into Baghdad, Iraq’s capital is breathing again.
Shia militias still hold sway over large areas of the city, and around a half a dozen people are still reported killed every day in shootings, bombings and mortar barrages.
But even if the return to normal life is only a temporary respite, Baghdadis say they are enjoying the moment.
It certainly doesn’t have to be “temporary” if we recognize that the surge has indeed helped in making Baghdad safer and that a renewed commitment to the reconstruction process can solidify the gains that have been made in Baghdad and Anbar. Yes, work needs to be done to bring about political reconciliation, but it is a whole lot easier to achieve a long term reconciliation plan thanks to the surge and the attendant counterinsurgency policies being followed by the multinational force in Iraq. If those policies are cut short, you can kiss any chance of political reconciliation–and a peaceful Iraq–goodbye.