Here is something that shows how interesting spin can be. I will highlight the critical section:
Poll: Iraqis Distrusting Coalition Troops
Tuesday December 2, 2003 8:16 AM
By MICHAEL McDONOUGH
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - Nearly four out of five Iraqis have little or no confidence in occupying U.S. and British forces, but more than 40 percent said the fall of Saddam Hussein was the best thing that happened to them in the past year, according to a poll published Monday.
Initial findings from the study, conducted across Iraq between mid-October and mid-November, also showed that almost three-quarters of respondents lack confidence in the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority.
But only around a fifth of Iraqis questioned said they trust political parties, according to Oxford Research International, the British-based consultancy that led the survey of 3,244 people aged 15 and over.
It described the poll as ``the first truly representative national study in the recent history'' of Iraq. The margin of error was not immediately available and researchers warned that some findings could change following secondary statistical analysis, to be conducted in the coming weeks.
The survey results were published a day after the end of the bloodiest month yet for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. At least 104 coalition troops died in Iraq in November, including 79 Americans.
Asked how much confidence they had in U.S. and British forces in Iraq, 56.6 percent of respondents said they had none at all and 22.2 percent said they didn't have very much confidence, while only 7.6 percent had ``a great deal.''
Regarding the Coalition Provisional Authority, led by U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer, 43.5 percent of those questioned expressed no confidence, and 29.9 percent said they had not very much confidence.
Some of the survey's findings appeared contradictory. When people were asked to name the best thing that had happened to them in the last 12 months, by far the most common response - with 42.3 percent of answers - was the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. The second most common answer, with 15.7 percent, was improvements in education.
But when asked to name the worst thing that had happened to them in the last 12 months, 35.1 percent cited the war, bombings and defeat. The second most frequent answer, with 13.6 percent of responses, was the death of a loved one.
[The highlighted paragraph reads that a majority of Iraqis have some or a lot of confidence in Paul Bremer and the CPA. However, it is phrased to emphasize that there is that the majority does not have a robust degree of confidence.]
guardian.co.uk |
