Brothers

For some months there has been hints that life in Baghdad is returning to normal. This is sweet vindication for those who retained faith that peace was possible, despite the entrenched scepticism of large sections of the Western media.

Now a post at Captain Quarters examines a Washington Post report that Baghdad security has been put to the ultimate test - the cabbie factor,

If cabbies feel secure enough to drive all over Baghdad, that's a good indication of normalcy returning to Iraq. They know better than to take extraordinary risks, which makes the cabbie factor an interesting and reliable leading indicator.

There is a sobering qualifier, of course,

...this is still a city where anyone could be killed at any moment for no particular reason.

The blogger, Edward Morrissey, a former Los Angeles cabbie makes an easy analogy with Baghdad cabbies,

...this is the world of cabbies everywhere... Recently, Minneapolis had a rash of cabbie murders, drivers who died for less than $200 because their fares turned out to be murderers, and in LA this happened with less fanfare.

Good luck to Baghdad cabbies, indeed all cabbies, it's a jungle out there.

via US reader, Terry.

Comments

[Pond]

Dying with your boots on? We all gotta go sometime...

[Myron Pentz]

For a somewhat different cab story you might be interested in this article.