The Americans Spoke, Now the Iraqi People Speak
A national survey of Iraq citizens by ABC news, the BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK was done in late August. The survey consisted of face-to-face interviews of 2,212 randomly selected adults at randomly selected homes at sampling points randomly selected across the country. 69% of the interviews were either directly observed by supervisors or back-checked in-person or by phone. All but two of the interviewers had previous experience on similar surveys.
65% of the randomly selected respondents agreed to cooperate – well above the 40% that is considered reasonable in the U.S. In spite of the obvious danger, the respondents seemed unafraid and serious in answering the questions.
The results of the new survey do not give the surge the same good marks as Bush and Petraeus (emphasis added):
… assessing the surge itself -- a measure that necessarily includes views of the United States, which are highly negative -- 65 to 70 percent of Iraqis say it's worsened rather than improved security, political stability and the pace of redevelopment alike.
Apart from a few scattered gains, (the survey)… finds deepening dissatisfaction with conditions in Iraq, lower ratings for the national government and growing rejection of the U.S. role there. ... despite the uncertainties of what might follow, 47 percent now favor the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq… a view that's risen equally among Sunni Arabs (72 percent now say the U.S. should leave immediately, up 17 points) and Shiites (44 percent, up 16 points). Kurds almost unanimously disagree; just eight percent favor an immediate withdrawal. Desire for the United States to "leave now" is highest in Anbar, still deeply anti-American despite any accommodation its leaders have made with the U.S. military.Bush declared “normal life is returning” when he visited Anbar last week. 38 percent of Anbar Iraqis do see security improvement, up from zero in March. However, a large majority, 62 percent, still rate security negatively, with 46 percent citing lack of security as their biggest problem. Not exactly the shinning example portrayed by Bush and Petraeus.
The President’s definition of “normal life” must be very odd because Anbar also reports increased “very bad” ratings on availability of jobs, local schools, clean water, household goods, fuel, and freedom of movement.
In another result, 80 percent of Iraqis disapprove of the way U.S. and other coalition forces have performed in Iraq. Acceptability of attacks on U.S. forces varies by locale, with100 percent in Anbar, 69 percent in Kirkuk city and 60 percent in Baghdad, compared with 38 percent in Basra and just three percent in the northern Kurdish provinces.
Performance of the national government shows a 65 percent disapprove rate. Even 47 percent of the Shiites themselves disapprove. Prime Minister Maliki’s performance has only a 33 percent approval rating (shades of George Bush!) down 10 points since last winter. Again, the rating, even among Shiites, is down by 13 points during that period.
Among the more positive results, only 19 percent, (down from 31 percent in March), blame the U.S. for the current violence. There have also been gains in the level of confidence in the Iraqi army, 67 percent and police, 69 percent.
A surprising and hopeful result shows that 62 percent of Iraqis continue to prefer a unified state with a central government.
Segregation of Iraqis -- both forced and voluntary -- continues to occur. Across the country, one in six Iraqis -- 17 percent -- report the separation of Sunni and Shiite Arabs on sectarian lines, including 11 percent who describe this as mainly forced. In a continued sign of hope, this separation is enormously unpopular: Ninety-eight percent, with agreement across ethnic and sectarian lines, oppose it.The he said, she said versions of the results of the surge as stated by Petraeus, politicians and pundits all come from a slanted perspective. The military wants to win, the politicians want to be right, and the pundits have a viewpoint to support. The Iraqi people, on the other hand, are just reporting on the reality of their lives. So which version do you think is closer to the truth?Related results underscore the difficulty of life in Iraq: Seventy-seven percent rate their freedom to live where they want without persecution negatively; 74 percent rate their freedom of safe movement negatively. Both are essentially unchanged from March.
For the full story about this survey go to:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3571504
Comments
The results of the survey don’t surprise me. I’ve been hearing for many months now that most Iraqis, including their government, want the US out of their country. The infrastructure remains a mess, and the US troops continue to be a lightning rod for violence.
What continues to concern me is how the Bush Administration keeps spinning the truth, and the media keeps falling down on the job. The media is getting more and more suspect. Either it is largely comprised of people with little or no skill in reporting, or they are all being told what to report by their corporate “concerned more with advertising dollars than truth” bosses. No doubt, as usual, it’s a bit of both. It makes me more and more resentful of Fox “Noise,” a faux news outlet that knowingly lies to the American public on a daily basis. I wouldn’t care accept for the number of idiots in this nation that watch it, believing they are getting “fair and balanced,” and are ending up with “extreme bias” that they accept because it’s what they want to hear. After all, it must seem much easier to have their falsehoods confirmed than actually having to change their minds.
Trish, I worry about a conspiracy to sell out this nation in order to set up a new corporate world order. Although I realize that at some point in the near or distant future the world must unite in a way that transcends the outdated notions of nationalism, I’m not in favor of the rich and privileged creating the world in their own image. A friend just sent me an article about Dubai attempting to acquire a large piece of the Nasdaq, as well as the London Stock Exchange Dubai .
Remember Dubai, a part of the United Arab Emirates nations to which Bush attempted to hand over the job of handling our port security. It also appears Halliburton is also setting up their headquarters there Halliburton .
Dubai is sure growing in leaps and bounds, and they have a ton of money. On one hand it seems we are fighting an Islamic Jihad, and on the other, an Arab nation, with our support, is becoming a focal point of power and money. Is this just another coincidence? I suggest people google "Dubai" and take a look at how Dubai is growing in leaps and bounds, seemingly preparing for a huge future.
Posted by: Stephen | September 21, 2007 12:16 PM
Something I have been thinking about for some time is how cleverly we the people have been set up to immediately discard the idea of “conspiracy” as if anyone who suggests it is some kind of nut. If you really think about it that can’t be true because the history of our world is filled with conspiracies but for some reason we are supposed to believe that our modern world is exempt from such scheming. To further interfere with the recognition and acknowledgement of conspiracies, we have been fed a steady diet of the antics of celebrity, planting the idea that this represents the behavior of the wealthy – empty headed, drugged up, and foolish. But the truly wealthy - those who would rule the world - move quietly in the background directing attention everywhere but at themselves. They live in a world so different from that of the poor, the middle class, and even the moderately wealthy, that we cannot even imagine it. They are powerful beyond the belief or understanding of most ordinary people.
It is scary to say the least to those who can see the dangerous possibilities in developing situations such Dubai’s growth, the chummy relationship between the Bush family and the Arabs, and the ongoing attempts by this President to allow them to buy parts of our country.
That is why I think impeachment should be on the table and it is one reason I am so opposed to Hilary Clinton. Getting this administration out of office is not enough. We need to replace them with someone who is not a party to what is going on. Hilary Clinton is a part of the establishment and I do not see her turning things around. Yes, she might do some good things for the poor with her right hand but while that is going on out front, there is no telling what she will be doing with her left hand in the background.
Posted by: Trish | September 21, 2007 03:36 PM
We are on the same wavelength Trish. I'm also thinking of impeachment of this entire Administration, and, as soon as possible. I don't trust to the continual harm they can achieve in the next year and a half, especially knowing how self-serving they are, and knowing they suspect they might be given the old heave-ho during the upcoming election cycle.
The unknown is the Congress. Just who exactly is complicit in this sham, and who is just ignorant of the real game being played, and merrily following along like so many other naive Americans? And where precisely stands the Pentagon in all this?
These are a combination of criminal and ignorant minds, and those who aren't ignorant are definitely unaware. I think we know who I'm speaking of when I say ignorant. I find it amusing that Bush imagines himself as a paid speaker. One can only imagine the limited venue. The fact that all the intrigue of the last six years started with a blank stare in a second grade classroom is rather ironic. No doubt Bush, in his upcoming memoirs, will have a chapter called "My Pet Country."
And I couldn't agree more on your take on conspiracies. It's a major DOOOOH that people don't get that our history is replete with conspiracies of all kinds, and by the same power elite.
Posted by: Stephen | September 22, 2007 03:09 PM