] BAGHDAD -- Large swaths of Iraq remain outside the
] control of the interim government, major highways are
] fraught with attackers, and interim Prime Minister Iyad
] Allawi -- along with the U.S. Embassy and much of the
] international community -- must conduct business in
] fortified compounds guarded by tanks, blast walls and
] barbed wire.
]
] In Washington, Allawi gave Congress an upbeat assessment
] Thursday, but the situation in Iraq is more complicated.
]
] Widespread anxiety engulfed much of Iraq this month as a
] wave of car bombings, kidnappings and gun battles killed
] scores of American soldiers, Iraqi civilians and
] hostages.

Violence Belies Positive Picture