Reporter Richard Engel gives a very honest comparison of life in Iraq under Saddam and life in Iraq today.

The thing that struck me about this article was that there are both good and bad in both time periods. Below is just one example.

SAFETY:

UNDER SADDAM

Personal safety was a direct result of one’s ability to appease the state, or be lucky enough to stay out of its way. People were so afraid that men told me they wouldn’t even talk to their wives or children about Saddam.

Saddam fought three wars while in power - resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands - so there was a good chance of getting killed or wounded in one of them.

Personal safety, however, was excellent. There were no muggings or kidnappings.

I walked the streets and never had to worry about the money in my pockets (which was often considerable because credit cards were essentially useless). Then there was the time I lost a bag containing $9,000 in cash and my passport. It was returned, an event which Saddam Hussein personally recognized on Iraqi state television in 2001. (The incident was used by the propaganda machine to show the innate honesty of the Iraqi people.)

In all, there was a system - no matter how evil it was - and Iraqis had learned to deal with it. But there was no hope, only increasing skill at beating the system.

NOW

People are afraid to walk the streets. Militias, gangs, insurgents and police are all suspect. There are car bombs and mortar attacks every day in many cities. People are afraid of the Iraqi security forces, believing they are either Sunni insurgents in disguise or Shiite militias – both are deadly.

The state remains threatening (many people are arrested arbitrarily and tortured) and crime has, to put it mildly, skyrocketed.

I cannot walk the streets. I would be kidnapped. Husbands do talk to their wives openly, but don’t let them leave the house for fear of what might happen.The situation is chaotic and changing. People do not know how to deal with it and find it terrifying.

There is hope the situation will improve. But fears it will take a long time, costing many, many lives.