[lbo-talk] Gallup poll in Baghdad

[Doug Henwood]

I asked Christian Parenti what he thought of the Gallup poll of 
Baghdadis. He certainly didn't dismiss it out of hand. He says he 
doesn't doubt that some Iraqis feel freer - SH's regime was brutal, 
and many are glad to see it gone. But people were also sad to see him 
go - and can't quite explain why. And people are hopeful that things 
will get better. And after years of savage repression, followed by 
war and occupation, people are not used to speaking freely. So it's a 
place full of contradictions - sometimes within the same people.

Doug