Is life in Iraq better now thanĀ it was under Saddam Hussein? Some things have improved: Iraqis have the vote, the right to express their political opinions, an unfettered media, freedom to travel, even something of a consumer boom. But they also have to live with acute shortages of such everyday essentials as gasoline and electricity--and security. And how much better can life be when so many new kinds of death stalk the streets?
For many families in Baghdad, the only way to deal with those dangers is somehow to limit exposure to them. People venture outside only to replenish dwindling supplies...