Saddam Hussein would barely recognize his capital city and much of his country one year after the U.S.-led war that drove him from his palace on the banks of the Tigris River to a jail cell on a remote U.S. military base. In the 12 months since the war began last March 19, Baghdad has been transformed from a city disintegrating after 12 years of United Nations sanctions into a bustling metropolis where people talk on cell phones, get their news over the Internet and buy so many appliances that electricity production can’t keep pace. Where Saddam’s image once adorned entrances to cities and the walls of office buildings, there now are banners and paintings of Shiite Muslim religious leaders, among the very people Saddam oppressed. Americans and other foreigners live in the former leader’s palaces. The political opposition that for more than a decade railed against Saddam from abroad is now here, bickering over the country’s future. Iraqis – from rural villages to the capital – openly express their opinions at town hall meetings and on the streets. Full Story
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