Families' lives measure pace of progress in Iraq

USATODAY.com - Families' lives measure pace of progress in Iraq
Families' lives measure pace of progress in Iraq
By John Diamond, Sabah al-Anbaki, Mohammed Hayder Sadeq and Elliot Blair Smith, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — Until recently, it was a bad sign in the al-Taie household when the generator went silent. It generally meant thieves had stolen the family's power source.
The al-Taie family has nearly continuous electricity. For the al-Zubaidi family, lucrative jobs in the new government mean an improved lifestyle. But the Muhaisens, a poor family, have not benefited much; they complain about the escalating prices of food and the dangerous roads, which keep them from tending to family graves in a city 100 miles away.

Some changes are apparent: Streets in the capital are lined with fruit markets, furniture sellers, sidewalk kebab stands and neighborhood coffee shops. The number of cars in Baghdad has more than tripled in the past two years. U.S. troops remain a regular presence, but Iraqis increasingly regard the troops as part of the scenery. "I like the guns I see with the American soldiers when they pass in the neighborhood," says 10-year-old Ahmed Abdullah al-Zubaidi.