The Washington Post has a heartening story on a way to measure security in Baghdad: taxi odometers. Taxi driving has been a deadly business recently - but the number of miles are going up as things appear to be improving. One driver is quoted:

"To tell you the truth, I thought I had just traded my life for 5,000 dinars," or $4, said Abbas, who was shocked when he arrived in the traffic-jammed streets of Adhamiyah [a notoriously dangerous neighbourhood] to see shops open and people strolling in the road. "Then I suddenly realized that security really is returning to Baghdad."

This is grim, mind:

Cabdrivers still disguise their identities to pass through neighborhoods of the opposite sect. Omar Hussein Fadhil, a Sunni with a first name that clearly identifies his sect, said he takes passengers to every area of the city, but often pretends to be a Shiite to do so.

The need to works means sectarian acting: scary as hell. I, for one, pray that the number of miles clocked continues to rise.