Pessimism 'growing among Iraqis'
Iraqis are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country and unhappy about their lives, a survey suggests.
Less than 40% of those polled said things were good in their lives, compared to 71% two years ago.

However, a majority of those questioned said that, despite daily violence, they did not believe Iraq was in a state of civil war.

More than 2,000 people took part in the BBC/ABC News poll.



The poll paints a picture of an increasingly polarised Iraq, with acutely diverging views between Sunni Arabs and Shias - Sunnis appearing more pessimistic.
There are also regional differences, with pessimism most keenly felt across central Iraq, including Baghdad, where Sunni Arabs are most numerous.

But despite their differences, 58% overall said they wanted Iraq to remain a unified country. Almost all said they did not want Iraqi to be broken up along sectarian lines.

The poll produced conflicting views on the role of the US and its allies.

Only 18% said they had confidence in US and coalition troops, and 51% said they thought attacks on coalition forces were justified.

However, only 35% said foreign troops should leave Iraq now. A further 63% said they should go only after security has improved.

'Deteriorating lives'

The poll was commissioned by the BBC, ABC News, ARD German TV and USA Today. It was conducted by D3 Systems.


People were questioned in more than 450 neighbourhoods and villages across all 18 provinces between 25 February and 5 March.
The findings contrast sharply with those of a similar poll in 2005, a year when elections were taking place.

Asked now whether they thought reconstruction efforts in Iraq had been effective, some 67% said they felt they had not.

And just 38% said the situation in the country was better than before the 2003 war, while 50% said it was worse.

Many said the quality of their lives was deteriorating, with a particularly high proportion (88%) saying electricity and fuel supplies were poor.


READ THE FINDINGS

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Security remains a serious concern, with only 26% saying they felt safe in their own neighbourhoods.

More than half of those polled said that they have not gone to markets or crowded areas and often stayed at home in order to avoid trouble.

Many said they often stopped their children from going to school.

Ethnic divide

Ethnic differences were particularly evident in attitudes towards the execution of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni leader in a predominantly Shia state.


WAS US RIGHT TO INVADE IRAQ?
Absolutely right:
2007: 22%
2005: 19%
2004: 20%
Somewhat right:
2007: 25%
2005: 28%
2004: 29%
Somewhat wrong:
2007: 19%
2005: 17%
2004: 13%
Absolutely wrong:
2007: 34%
2005: 33%
2004: 26%
Refused/don't know:
2007: 0%
2005: 4%
2004: 13%

Of Sunni Arabs questioned, more than 95% said they regarded the manner of his death as inappropriate and unlikely to help the cause of reconciliation.

Shias predominantly took the opposite view - 82% said the manner of death was appropriate.

But considerably fewer - 62% - thought his execution would lead to reconciliation.

A large number of Sunnis, 48%, said they thought Iraq should have a strong leader in five years' time, compared to 46% who said they wanted a democracy.

Only 11% of Shias sought a strong leader, with 52% calling for democracy and 37% for an Islamic state.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm

Oh goody, goody. The US is failing. You guys can go out and celebrate tonight. Myself, I get more excited when the US is succeeding.

Bet you get a stiffy when somebody lies about that success too.

I think you are just really cranky these days because the GOP is finally getting it's ass handed to it, one scandal, lie and manupulation at a time.

The U.S. is not failing, the Iraqies are, just like the South Vietnamese army never supported U.S. efforts.

>>>"I think you are just really cranky these days because the GOP is finally getting it's ass handed to it, one scandal, lie and manupulation at a time."

Wrong again Missing. The GOP isn't getting it's ass handed to it, the GOP is doing it all to themselves without any help from anyone else by doing one stupid thing after another.

The Democrats haven't gained any power with their majority in the election, they aren't able to do anything to the Republicans, the Republicans are doing it all to themselves without any help.

I'm one of those people who wants change, lots of it. Electing some Democrat hacks isn't going to be change anymore than electing some Republican hacks. We need some new faces. We won't get them.

>>>"The U.S. is not failing, the Iraqies are, just like the South Vietnamese army never supported U.S. efforts."


That I will agree with.

Deane writes:

The Democrats haven't gained any power with their majority in the election, they aren't able to do anything to the Republicans, the Republicans are doing it all to themselves without any help.

Not quite true. There's no chance in hell a Republican-led judiciary committee would be threatening to subpeona Karl Rove and Harriet Miers (to testify under oath) to clear up this attorney firings issue. Also, Rumsfeld was clearly let go after the 2006 Dems victory because the Bush Whitehouse knew Rumsfeld wouldn't have been able to endure real scrutiny from Democratic congressional committees.

Having fewer than 60 votes in the Senate prevents the Dems from passing much legislation (which Bush would veto anyway) but the Democrats are clearly having an effect on the Bush administration. No more rubber stamping whatever Bush wants on Iraq, for example.

Andrew

"The U.S. is not failing, the Iraqies are, just like the South Vietnamese army never supported U.S. efforts."

And WHY are the efforts failing? Why do we view it as the Iraqis failing, and why did we view it as the South Vietnamese failing? It's simple - they don't WANT our "help".

We implemented Vietnamization, the theory of attempting to westernize the Vietnamese people, preaching what a bad guy Ho Chi Minh was. It didn't occur to the Johnson administration that the Vietnamese were sick and tired of occupation and western rule, which they had been under the French for centuries, until Japan invaded during World War II and were more barbaric in their treatment of the locals than the French. No, the U.S. way of doing it was the RIGHT way, come hell or high water, and we would translate that into our own efforts to westernize a populace that was content farming rice and being peaceful and worshipping Buddha.

Now we are in an area of the world where we are hated probably more than Israel, where we yet again unjustly invaded a country, found and killed its dictator, and completely pissed off the vast majority of the citizens of said country in our efforts to westernize it, with no thought to local area customs or religious beliefs or practices. The parallels are so similar here, a good friend of mine (and staunch conservative who is so disillusioned with the Bush administration that he is backing Obama at this point) calls it "Vietraq".

>>>"There's no chance in hell a Republican-led judiciary committee would be threatening to subpeona Karl Rove and Harriet Miers (to testify under oath) to clear up this attorney firings issue."

Ain't gonna happen Andrew. It's all political BS, once again. Ain't gonna happen.

Rove is just like a greased PIG. You just can't catch him......
Rove has to live with himself and that's probably bad enough.

...ain't gonna happen.

You might be right on this.

Show and tell and get hosed, hide and slide and still get hosed. Either way, they are just hosed and it's largely their own doing.

The rate of change is fairly high right now. Take a trip through www.pollingreports.com. The trends are encouraging in this regard. Yes, I want to see some GOP accountability, but I want the general trend pulled closer to reality more.

So, the net result is all good from my perspective.

Trixter: Yep. Totally slimey.. Sweaty and stinky too. Bet he drinks his ass off.