Jeff Miller: “I would say that all indications, I think for most Members, they would say that Baghdad is returning to normal. Yes…”

“I would say that all indications, I think for most Members, they would say that Baghdad is returning to normal. Yes, there still are some problems. We see them on a daily basis, but the fact of the matter is children are attending new schools, new universities, playgrounds are up. Children are actually going there. Their parents feel comfortable to allow them to go. Where the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down some 15 months ago in Firdos Square, adults are sitting around playing games of bingo. Now, that sounds pretty silly, but the fact of the matter is if you are comfortable enough to sit on the ground or under the shade of a tree and play bingo, things are getting back to normal. At the northern end of Iraq in Mosul, security forces are in almost total control up there. It has been divided into sectors. They have been going house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood; and they have got a lot of insurgents out and a lot of weapons caches there in that area to make sure our troops and coalition forces remain safe. We have thwarted hundreds of different types of IED attacks on our troops. On the banks of the Tigress River I would say that nightlife is returning to normal as well. You look in the background of all of these TV scenes that you see of some of the car bombs that are exploded and burning. If you look in the very back, you will see that traffic is moving and progress is still going on. Commerce is taking place.”