The New York Times reports that Baghdad is now “secure enough to sin.”

“Vice is making a comeback,” says the article, in a city “once famous for 1,001 varieties of it.” Of course, the three primary forms of “vice” are sex, drinking, and gambling. The article reports a noticeable increase in all three.

Any sociologist would say this is a sign that locals are feeling safer, that there’s more money in circulation, and that people are trusting each other more. Given the city’s recent agonies, those are all good, regardless of how you feel about “vice.”

Sex has become more acceptable in Baghdad in two ways. Abu Nawas Park has been reestablished as a lover’s lane. No longer afraid of being blown up by suicide bombers, young people are now willing to be seen making out in public.

And there’s apparently an increase in prostitution. Nightclubs have reopened, hotels are busy, the streets are less scary. And so women are back to selling sex, men are buying, and life goes on...