SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Without a word to his wife or children, Jassim dressed for work -- he's a quality control supervisor at the Trade Ministry -- and drove straight to the Baghdad Equestrian Club.

The club is a dirt track in the western quarter of the city, where a man -- no Iraqi women in sight -- can drink beer and place bets all afternoon long.

Between the races, usually six a day, there are card tables outside where Iraqis throw down their money on dice games.

Jassim is a Shiite Muslim, whose leaders have a well-known disdain for alcohol and gambling.

"The religious people bother us all the time," said Jassim, who was holding a tall can of Turkish beer called Venus and clicking his amber prayer beads. "But so what? There is enough to worry about in this country. We should be able to have a good time."