Famous Baghdad street seeks to reclaim former glory

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - When General David Petraeus reports to Congress on the success of his military strategy in Iraq, he will probably point to a Baghdad riverside avenue lined with eucalyptus trees that has been given a $2 million facelift.

The heavily publicized project is aimed at showing Iraqis that a major U.S.-led crackdown launched in February in the city has succeeded in tamping down bitter sectarian violence, reducing the number of car bombs and death squad killings.

In just over a week, Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, is due to testify before Congress on the military build-up of 30,000 extra troops. He is expected to tell them that the new security strategy is working.

"The September report will characterize successes that the surge has facilitated, and this is one of them," said Major Anthony Judge, the project officer, standing in the shade of a tree in Abu Nawas street to escape the baking afternoon heat.

But fears that such a prestige project could be a prime insurgent target, uncertainty over when it will actually open and complaints from businesses about insufficient funding and drab building design suggest success is not guaranteed.

One of Baghdad's most famous streets, Abu Nawas has undergone several transformations over the years and was once known for its bars, nightclubs, fish restaurants and its park stretching towards the Tigris River where families picnicked.

Then came the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and the street died.

As the city hunkered down behind curtains of blast walls that sprang up to protect against car bombs, Abu Nawas was cut off from the rest of the capital by tons of concrete blocks.

Businesses in the street shut their doors. The restaurants serving mazgouf, a traditional Iraqi fish dish cooked over a wood fire, went from selling 70 fish a day to just five.

The street, where U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker fondly remembers strolling during his first posting to Baghdad in the 1970s, fell into ruin, and it stayed that way until April.

VENTURING BACK

That was when the U.S. military, along with the Iraqi government and Baghdad city council, launched the project to return the street, named after the famous 8th century poet Abu Nawas, to its former glory.

The street officially reopens next week, although many businesses are still in the midst of refurbishment. A visit this week showed Abu Nawas largely deserted and many shops shuttered or their windows shattered.

Despite the publicity on Iraqi television stations, tempting Iraqis to venture back will be a hard sell. Crowded markets and shopping areas have been favorite targets for car bombers.

Haider Hashim, manager of the Akad art gallery, is preparing for the reopening, but also for the possibility that the street will be a target for militants keen to show that the U.S. security strategy has failed.

"The security situation is still risky and people are afraid to come. I expect there will be an attack," he said. Having said that, he still hopes Iraqis will return to Abu Nawas.

Entry to the street is through one of four checkpoints. Vehicles will only be allowed on certain stretches and side streets have been blocked off with blast walls. U.S. troops are also constantly patrolling.

"There is approximately 300 security (personnel) -- coalition forces, private security and the Iraqi army," said Judge. "Our main worry is VBIEDs (car bombs)."

The threat of possible attack means Abu Nawas will be reopened without fanfare and the exact date has not been given.

"There is no doubt the enemy will try to exploit any success and we will do everything in our power to mitigate it," said Judge, who sees Abu Nawas as an oasis of calm in a combat zone.

"This is a place where Iraqis can come and experience a sense of normalcy, where they can bring their children, in a place that is secure and they don't have to worry about being shot or blown up," he said.

DOMINO EFFECT

Major Sharon Falke, a civil affairs officer who has been involved in helping to get shop owners back on their feet with $2,500 microgrants, said she hoped the revitalization of the street would have a domino effect, encouraging more development.

"If you set the proper conditions and rebuild areas, the people will come back," Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks, deputy commanding general for support with Multi-National Division Baghdad, said on a recent visit to the street.

The project used Iraqi sub-contractors and local labor, although the funding came from the U.S. military and USAID.

Sitting at a plastic table in his Asmak Baghdad fish restaurant, restaurateur Ali Mehdi holds up a dirty, tattered piece of cloth. "How can I make a suit out of this?" he asks, to make his point that the microgrant he received was not enough.

Mehdi and some other riverside restaurant owners in the street are unhappy with the amount of money they were given to restart their businesses and point to the bland, uniform facades that a building contractor foisted on them.

"I hope the street will be like the way it was before, but I don't expect that. This is supposed to be a new beginning. I think they wish to show that security has improved, but it is not a matter of just one street."

(Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim in Baghdad)