SIN AND SEX RETURN TO BAGHDAD
Niko Price, Associated Press, 4/29/03

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Baghdad has gone through a revolution in the past three
weeks, casting off decades of censorship and state control. Banned books,
satellite dishes and video CDs are now sold on the street - as are alcohol
and women.

Nobody knows how long the permissiveness will last. Iraq's American
governors brought together Iraqi political leaders Monday to discuss a new
government, and many Baghdadis believe that once it's in place, some of
their freedoms will disappear.

Conservatives are counting on it.

Horrified by the changes, some Iraqis blame America for what they call a
cultural degradation. If it continues for long, they promise to rise up in
a holy war against the U.S. forces occupying their country.

"Everything against Islam, everything we hate, has been imported by the
Americans like a disease," said Abbas Hamid, a 60-year-old merchant. "We'll
fight them. We're tired now, but we'll rest up and use our guns to drive
the Americans out..."

Prostitutes walk the streets in some neighborhoods, beckoning passing
motorists...

Also for sale on street corners were cases of Amstel beer and bottles of
Jack Daniel's whiskey. In recent years, alcohol was forbidden from public
places in Iraq.

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