Poll: Iraqis are thankful, but want US forces to leave
A new comprehensive opinion poll in Iraq shows that Iraqis still say that removing Saddam Hussein from power was worth the hardships suffered, but now they want the coalition forces to leave.
But while they acknowledge benefits from dumping Saddam a year ago, Iraqis no longer see the presence of the American-led military as a plus. Asked whether they view the U.S.-led coalition as "liberators" or "occupiers," 71% of all respondents say "occupiers." [...]
"I'm not ungrateful that they took away Saddam Hussein," says Salam Ahmed, 30, a Shiite businessman. "But the job is done. Thank you very much. See you later. Bye-bye."
I wished that was true. If the coalition really did a Spanish retreat now, and things went downhill fast, the US would be accused of betraying the Iraqis.
Many Iraqis are angered at how US forces operate, saying they are disrespectful to the people. However, very few base such opinions on personal experiences:
That negative opinion of the behavior of the troops rarely is based on direct contact. Iraq is a country the size of California with a population of 25 million. Many areas are sparsely patrolled. Only 7% in the poll say they based their opinions on personal experience.
Instead, Iraqis get their information from others. For about a third, it's pan-Arabic television such as the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya satellite news channels. The networks frequently show scenes of U.S. forces shooting into Iraqi neighborhoods in hot spots such as Fallujah, an anti-American stronghold in the center of the country.
Al-Jazeera is doing the work of a thousand rocket propelled grenades. It is really an active enemy combatant.
blogs.salon.com (Jan Haugland, via Instapundit)
the USAtoday article on the poll
usatoday.com
Here's a direct link to the poll findings
usatoday.com
Notice the night-and-day difference between Kurdish and Arab responses. If Iraq was all Kurdish, it would be at peace and the war would be a shining triumph. Now, it's really hard to see how we have treated the Kurds and the Shia very differently; we have basically made the same mistakes, and helped them both about the same; only their reaction is 180 degrees different.
At the end of the day, all you can say is, well, the Kurds are not Arabs. You can help the Kurds, and given a chance, they can help themselves. Not only can the Arabs not seem to help themselves, their reaction to outside help is to turn on the helper. Yes, Al Jazeera is an enemy combatant. But Al Jazeera would get no purchase were the Arabs not ready fodder for its lies.
I really hope the Kurds get their independent state. |
