Coming Home To Baghdad
The bus pulled up this morning and a man named Labib Abu Ali got out. He'd just completed the long ride from Syria, along with his wife and four kids. His brother was waiting for him, and they embraced — a warm embrace that was a long time coming. Abu Ali smiled the whole time.
For the rest of the day, that smile never went away.
There's a good reason why. For the first time in six months, he's back home, back in place he feels he belongs. He's in Baghdad.
Since the U.S. troop surge reached its peak, thousands of people have returned to the capital city. They're returning, residents like Abu Ali, because they feel safer. They don't see the same kind of violence that was destroying this city last year. They feel comfortable bringing their families here. That's worth noting.
That, finally, is good news.
To be sure, Baghdad is not back to the way it was. The U.S. military is the first to acknowledge that. At a briefing recently, Commanding Gen. Ray Odierno, the number two man in Iraq, may have put it best. He told me Baghdad is not back to normal, but there are increasing signs of normalcy.
IED attacks are down. Murders are down. Kidnappings are down.
The military thinks it's important to sustain the gains, and they're leaning on the Iraqi government for help. Some of the families who come back find that their homes are occupied by someone else. That could lead to frustration, and new violence. The central government doesn't appear to have any real plan to deal with these "internally displaced" people. That's one of the reasons Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was here for a surprise visit.
Abu Ali, who I had a chance to spend time with today, is one of the lucky ones. His home was waiting for him.
That afternoon, after they drove back home, his family gathered for a meal around the kitchen table. In the backyard, they kicked a soccer ball around. Simple pleasures, really, but simple pleasures that were so difficult to achieve. In Baghdad, life was dangerous. In Syria, it was depressing. Like other Iraqis who fled to Syria, and Jordan, Abu Ali wasn't allowed to work. Family finances are often drained because they have to rent homes.
Now that he's back, Abu Ali is encouraged. He knows there is work to be done — a lot of it. But he believes, truly believes that his people can come together. He believes it's possible for Iraq to find happiness.
On this day, at least one family has found it.