On a giant billboard in front of the Iraqi ministry of Youth in Baghdad, a sign reads: "Forgive and be merciful for a unified Iraq." The streets are busy with pedestrians and shoppers. We drive down Saadoon Street, a wide central artery with 20-foot blast walls cutting off one side of the street from another. Painted over the concrete, there are pinks flowers, flying doves, as well as river and mountain scenes.On Saadoon Street and everywhere else in Baghdad, most cars have bullet holes. I counted more than 20 on one vehicle as we stopped in heavy traffic.
Inside the car, looking out, I occasionally remember the threat of car bombs. It is a lottery. Is that man a suicide bomber, alone in his car? Would those four young men in another car kidnap me if they had a chance? If one of our regular Baghdad correspondents or producers heard me ask that question, my guess is they would laugh, call me naive and ask "are you kidding?"
In the distance, I think I hear a thud. An explosion. It didn't happen on Saadoon Street today.
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