NYT: 'Just when it seemed safe' in Baghdad

David Edwards and Adam Doster

Published: Saturday November 24, 2007



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Violence has dipped in Iraq since 'the Surge' began earlier this year, but as New York Times video journalists Stephen Farrel and Diana Oliva Cave document, chaos can erupt at any moment.

The two visited a centuries-old exotic pet market in Baghdad where life seemed to be returning to normal. "Families are venturing back, with the violence down," said one Iraqi merchant, "for the first time in a long time."

But fast-forward to that same market one week later. This time, shoppers and sellers are reeling from the detonation of a bomb that had been concealed in a box used for transporting birds.

"Last week, nothing happened. And for weeks before that, nothing happened," said an Iraqi. "Then, they let the people feel safe ... when they see the families start to come out, they used this opportunity."

The blast, which killed 13 people, was the third on this market in just 18 months. Citizens now feel unprotected. "There is no security," another Iraqi merchant says. "There is no searching. They should put two or three police patrols inside the market to search boxes."

This video is from The New York Times, broadcast on November 23.









