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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Orcastraiter who wrote (552834)	3/17/2004 11:42:32 AM
From: PROLIFE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

A Very Good Year INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Iraq: As the anniversary of the beginning of the war nears, it is timely to point out that the Iraqis overwhelmingly believe that life is better now than it was before the coalition toppled Saddam Hussein. A year ago, just two days before the war began, the defeatists were in full voice, warning that a quagmire was imminent. It was a replay of the protests that preceded the successful campaign in Afghanistan. We recall George Clooney, who honed his foreign policy expertise on celluloid, saying the U.S. "can't beat anybody anymore." We can't forget former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who went from being a harsh critic of Saddam to virtually an ally, having similar thoughts. He predicted the U.S. was "going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs." Those who weren't predicting defeat said that a war would cause the "Arab Street" to rise up against the U.S. There also was Nelson Mandela claiming that the U.S. wanted to plunge the world into a "holocaust" by ousting Saddam in a war. Yet the war was won quickly and the Iraqis, by a margin of 57% to 19%, say life is better now than it was under Saddam, and seven in 10 believe their lives are good today, while only 29% say they're bad. We doubt 70% in the U.S. would say life is good. But the Iraqis, who were polled by teams of reporters moving across the country asking questions, seem largely satisfied — and optimistic. The survey broke down conditions into 10 categories and asked more than 2,500 Iraqis how life is today (good or bad), how it is compared to pre-war Iraq (better, worse or the same) and what their expectations were for the next year (better, worse or the same). In every area, save security, where 49% believe it is good and 50% agree it is bad, most Iraqis responded positively. Their replies were even more positive, including on the security issue (54%-26%), when they were asked to compare the present day to pre-war conditions. Perhaps most interesting, especially in light of the recent signing of an interim constitution and the coming hand-over of the nation, probably this summer, is the finding that only a fifth of Iraqis want their new country to be an Islamic state. Though less than half (49%) believe the invasion was right, an even smaller margin (39%) think it was wrong. We don't think we're going too far if we say we're convinced that more Iraqis will agree to the former and fewer to the latter as time moves on. Why not? Iraq now has a free press. Women have rights they didn't have while Saddam ruled. Iraqis are opening businesses, filling jobs and buying cell phones and TVs. Children are getting better educations and their parents are spending a new currency. On a wider scale, a volatile part of the world is going through some positive changes. Libya, seeing what happened in Iraq, is reforming itself. At the same time, Iran is showing some promise for change and Palestinian homicide bombers, once funded by Saddam's regime, have fewer resources with which to slaughter. There remains much to do in the war on terror. Last week's carnage in Spain is a painful reminder. But it's hard to deny that the war is moving ahead. Iraq one year later confirms that it is. investors.com