ATMs Are Signs of Progress in Iraq

BAGHDAD Jan. 16, 2009— -- The first ATMs have opened in Iraq since the invasion five years ago -- an encouraging factoid contained in a new by-the-numbers Defense Department report about progress in the country.

In fact, there are now 20 ATMs in Baghdad, where the banking system was so devastated a few years ago that the United States had to fly in pallets stacked with dollars to pay government employees. Some restaurants even accept credit cards these days.

The details about the ATMs and what is hailed as Iraq's move "into the electronic banking age" is tucked into a 58-page quarterly report the Defense Department submitted to Congress this week.

The document, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, is an accountant's version of Iraq. Nearly every paragraph has a number in it and the numbers that caught the media's immediate attention are those concerning war and death: Civilian deaths are down 63 percent and the number of roadside bombs are down 44 percent -- though assassinations are up.

But other figures in the report give an inkling about life in the shattered country. Many of those indicate that pieces are slowly being put back together.

One notable piece of data: There hasn't been a blackout of the national grid since May.

"The Iraqi government continues to manage the electricity sector with increased effectiveness," the report states.

Even more remarkable is the indication that the insurgency has pretty much stopped blowing up the towers that carry power lines.

"Improved security has nearly eliminated interdictions," the report says. "In September 2008, sand storms knocked down several towers and the Ministry of Electricity had crews on-site within 24 hours to begin repairs."

No blackouts doesn't mean power 24-7, but the report is pleased to note that on average, the grid is providing power 14 hours a day, a big step for a country that has been largely running on private generators in recent years.

That 14-hour figure is an average, however. The allocation of power comes and goes depending on the political or ethnic composition of each area or, often, who pays the biggest bribe.

Daily power can be as little as four hours and the roar of private generators remains the constant background noise of Baghdad.

Most observers don't see a significant improvement in the country's energy situation until 2014.

The country's first new hospital in 22 years opened in Basra. And the number of Iraqi doctors coming home is on the rise. Only 200 returned to Iraq in 2007, but in 2008 the pace picked up to about 80 a month -- so that more than 800 badly needed doctors returned to Iraq last year.