Weblog Iraq the Model is worth as much scrolling as time allows. Mohammed recently made a case to a relative for the current progress of reconstruction in Iraq, drawing a square kilometer and describing the scene. Meanwhile, Omar speculates on the gains made by Iraqi police sternly cracking down on crime-ridden areas:

Something that worth mentioning is that when you walk in these areas you can see pro-Saddam slogans covering most of the walls and in my opinion there’s a strong relation between ordinary criminals and the "resistance" as each group serves the other's interests; as a thief would love to see chaos spread everywhere and would make use of attacks that target the security forces because this would provide a favorable environment for his work. On the other hand, the "resistance" and their allies would like to see more crimes to prove their theory that things were better off in the past and that the change in Iraq has made things only worse. The routes through which drugs are being smuggled are most likely to be the same ones used to smuggle explosives.

Omar's got it right: desperation breeds extremism, the very lifeblood that pumps through Iraq's dictatorial neighbors, feeding hatred and violence. In Iraq, that flow is being staunched. Crime will probably be a challenge in years following the disintegration of organized terrorism in Iraq, just as it was in postwar Germany and Japan, so a powerful show of authority will go far to establish the rule of law in this early stage. But as for the present, Iraqi jaws are set, acts of barbarism doing little to shake the country's spirit.

BETTER THAN THE DEMOCRATS: Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi knows the score.