BAGHDAD, April 3 -- On a two-day visit to Iraq , Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) declared after a short walk in a market that Baghdad was becoming safer under a new security plan. But after his departure, Iraqi merchants and U.S. military officials said his upbeat assessment is far from the reality they experience every day.
McCain, who left Iraq on Monday but remained in the region, also said that "things are getting better in Iraq" and that he was "pleased with the progress that has been made," although he cautioned that there was still a difficult road ahead. However, new morgue statistics obtained by The Washington Post paint a more complicated picture and underscore the country's precarious security environment.
"This is the most dangerous area," Ahmad al-Aghaedi, the owner of a small shop that sells light fixtures in the city's Shorja market, which McCain visited, said on Tuesday. "There are snipers everywhere. Just three days ago, before the delegation arrived, they shot someone."
McCain, who left Iraq on Monday but remained in the region, also said that "things are getting better in Iraq" and that he was "pleased with the progress that has been made," although he cautioned that there was still a difficult road ahead. However, new morgue statistics obtained by The Washington Post paint a more complicated picture and underscore the country's precarious security environment.
"This is the most dangerous area," Ahmad al-Aghaedi, the owner of a small shop that sells light fixtures in the city's Shorja market, which McCain visited, said on Tuesday. "There are snipers everywhere. Just three days ago, before the delegation arrived, they shot someone."
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