Iraqis give US thumbs down
19/03/2007 22:41 - (SA)
London - Iraqis are increasingly gloomy about the future four years after Saddam Hussein was ousted - and fewer than one in five have faith in the US-led coalition, a poll suggested on Monday.
Only 18% of those polled had confidence in US and coalition troops, while 78% opposed their presence, 69% said their presence made security worse and 51% said attacks on coalition forces were justified.
The poll, commissioned by the BBC, ABC News, ARD German TV and USA Today ahead of this week's fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion, contrasts starkly with one two years ago when two-thirds of Iraqis were more upbeat.
The bloodshed in Iraq - which is estimated to have left tens of thousands dead - continued on Monday as five people died in a bomb blast near a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad and 15 were killed in the northern town of Kirkuk.
'Sectarian killing over'
In a British television interview Monday, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki insisted that sectarian killing had come to an end and blamed ongoing violence on al-Qaeda, which he called "the biggest threat" to Iraq.
"I would say that the sectarian killing is over," he told ITV television.
"There are still some actions done by al-Qaeda and its collaborators aimed at breaking the law."
But many ordinary Iraqis are unhappy with his efforts to bring peace: about 53% of people were dissatisfied with the performance of the Iraqi government, Monday's poll found.
Just 38% said the situation in the country was better than before the 2003 war, while 50% said it was worse.
Overall barely a quarter of Iraqis - 26% - feel safe in their own neighbourhoods while about 86% expressed concern about someone in their household being a victim of violence.
The poll was carried out by D3 Systems, who questioned more than 2 000 people across all 18 Iraqi provinces between February 25 and March 5.
'Some degree of normality'
Britain's ambassador to Baghdad, Dominic Asquith, told BBC radio that the poll was only a "snapshot" and said there were signs that the US security plan in Baghdad was beginning to have a positive effect.
"There is some degree of normality - I'm not saying it is normality, but there is some degree of normality - coming back," he added.
But the man photographed swinging a sledgehammer at a statue of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein four years ago in an iconic image which went around the world was among those expressing their disillusionment.
"I really regret bringing down the statue. The Americans are worse than the dictatorship.
"Every day is worse than the previous day," Kadhim al-Jubouri told the Guardian on Monday.
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