>Yoshie wrote:
>
>" ***** January 06, 2004
>North Adams, MA
>Article Published: Friday, December 26, 2003 - 11:37:11 AM EST"
>
>What came across from my guy was the tremendous fear among Iraqis
>that they were going to be abandoned by the U.S. to the tender
>mercies of the Baathists and the criminals who are all running
>around armed to the teeth. I'm sorry if this conflicts with your
>"bring 'em home now" line.
The Gallup poll, which many people on the left don't want to believe, found a great deal of contradictory opinions among Baghdad residents.
>September 24, 2003
>
>Ousting Saddam Hussein "Was Worth Hardships Endured Since Invasion,"
>Say Citizens of Baghdad
>
>by Richard Burkholder
>Director, International Polling
>
>
>Gallup Survey of Iraqi Capital Shows Residents Divided on Invasion's
>Short-Term Effects, but Optimistic About Future
>
>In the first rigorous, scientifically conducted sampling of public
>sentiment in Iraq, residents of the country's capital say -- by a
>2-to-1 margin -- that the ousting of Saddam Hussein was worth any
>hardships they might have personally suffered since the U.S. and
>British-led invasion (62% yes, 30% no).
[...]
>Baghdad's citizens overwhelmingly believe removing Saddam Hussein
>was "worth it" despite the fact that virtually all (94%) say that
>the city is now a more dangerous place for them than it was before
>the invasion, and despite the fact that most have had to endure
>extended periods without such basic amenities as electricity (99%)
>or clean drinking water (69%) since the invasion.
>
>Because of these and other continuing hardships, opinions are
>divided as to whether the effects of the invasion have, thus far,
>been positive for the country as a whole. A third (33%) say Iraq is
>already "much better off" (4%) or "somewhat better off" (29%) than
>before the invasion, but those saying so are outnumbered by those
>who say it is currently "much worse off" (15%) or "somewhat worse
>off" (32%) than before.
>
>Looking to the future, however, the overwhelming expectation is for
>improvement. Fully two-thirds (67%) believe that Iraq will be
>somewhat (35%) or much (32%) better off five years from now than it
>was before the Hussein regime was ousted, while only a small
>minority (8%) expects that the country will be worse off (4%
>somewhat, 4% much) than it was before the U.S. and British-led
>invasion.
>
>
>
>Important Differences in Perceptions Across City's Religious and
>Economic Groups
>
>The survey's findings also make it clear that there are dramatic
>differences in sentiment between those groups that were "haves" and
>"have-nots" under the previous regime.
>
>Opinions among the residents of the mixed-sect (and relatively
>affluent) Al Karkh district, for example, are divided evenly between
>those who think the removal of Hussein was "worth it" in that it
>justified any hardships introduced by invasion (47%), and those who
>disagree with this assessment (47%).
>
>In contrast, the residents of Sadr City (formerly Saddam City) feel
>overwhelmingly that the removal of that regime justified any
>hardships they may have endured since the invasion (78% agree, 16%
>disagree). This sprawling Shiite ghetto, with well over a million
>inhabitants, suffered the harshest forms of repression and
>deprivation under the Hussein regime.
[...]
>Appraisals of the United States, Britain, France, Coalition
>Provisional Authority, and Iraqi Governing Council
>
>The fact that the United States and Britain led the military action
>that toppled the former regime does not translate into favorable
>sentiment for these nations -- indeed France, which resolutely
>opposed a second Security Council resolution sanctioning military
>action, is held in significantly higher regard by those in Iraq's
>capital city. An outright majority (55%) holds a mostly (38%) or
>very (17%) favorable view of France, while just 12% say their
>appraisal of France is mostly (7%) or very (5%) unfavorable.
>
>Appraisals of both the United States and Britain, however, are more
>likely to be negative than positive. Nearly half of Baghdadis (44%)
>have a negative view of the United States (21% somewhat not
>favorable, 23% not favorable), and an even higher percentage (48%)
>views Britain negatively (23% somewhat not favorable, 25% not
>favorable at all). Only about one in four Baghdadis have a
>predominantly positive view of the two leading coalition partners;
>29% for the United States (20% mostly favorable, 9% very favorable),
>and 24% for Britain (16%, 8%), which ruled Iraq as a mandate until
>the country was granted independence in 1932.
>
>Interestingly, despite the predominantly negative light in which
>both Britain and the United States are viewed, assessments of the
>Coalition Provisional Authority are mixed. Residents of Baghdad are
>slightly more likely, on balance, to hold a favorable (mostly or
>very favorable: 36%) view of the CPA than an unfavorable one
>(somewhat or not favorable at all: 32%); the remaining third gives
>it a neutral rating of "3" on a 5-point scale (32%). It should be
>noted, however, that the percentage holding a not favorable at all
>view of the CPA -- 16% -- is higher than the percentage holding a
>very favorable view of it (9%).
>
>The nascent Iraqi Governing Council, a 25-member body inaugurated in
>mid-July, is viewed positively by a majority (61%) of Baghdad's
>residents. More than a third (36%) say they have a somewhat
>favorable impression of the IGC, and the percentage who describe
>their view of the IGC as very favorable (25%) significantly exceeds
>those whose view of it is either somewhat (7%) or not favorable at
>all (6%).
[...]
>It may come as a surprise to Western observers that Sadr City -- the
>devout, conservative Shiite stronghold formerly known as "Saddam
>City"-- is generally supportive of the CPA's performance thus far
>(37% positive, 13% negative). Conversely, in Al Karkh (a district
>that includes the upscale, largely Sunni neighborhood of Mansur),
>negative appraisals of the CPA's performance outnumber positive ones
>by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 (38% negative, 20% positive). Still, a
>sizable number in both districts appears to feel the CPA's
>performance has improved during the past two months (Sadr: 46%
>better job, 9% worse job; Al Karkh: 44% better, 22% worse).
[...]
>It wasn't long after Saddam Hussein's regime was ousted from Iraq
>that some vocal Baghdad residents began calling for the prompt
>withdrawal of coalition forces from the country. Shortly after
>television crews broadcast live images of the toppling of Hussein's
>statue in Baghdad's Firdos Square, the words "All Donne (sic) Go
>Home" were spray-painted on the statue's base.
>
>Iraqis' desire for a prompt withdrawal of foreign troops has been
>tempered, however, by concern about establishing some basic level of
>security. The invasion ushered in a wave of violent crime that the
>city's badly understaffed and underarmed police force has been
>largely powerless to contain. According to Gallup's new landmark
>survey of 1,178 adult residents of Baghdad*, nearly all Baghdadis --
>94% -- think the city is now a more dangerous place for them to live
>since the invasion, and 60% said there have been times during the
>past four weeks when they or their families were afraid to go
>outside their homes during the day.
>
>Given these findings, is the desire for a prompt withdrawal of
>foreign forces really the majority sentiment among Baghdad's
>citizens today? Only one in four Baghdad residents (26%) told Gallup
>they would prefer coalition forces to "leave immediately -- say, in
>the next few months." Seven in 10 (72%) said U.S. and British troops
>should stay in Iraq for "a longer period of time."
>
>Furthermore, a substantial 85% of Baghdad's residents said they
>agree with the assertion that "some people believe if the U.S. were
>to pull out its troops any time soon, Iraq will fall into anarchy."
>Just 11% said they disagree with this assessment.
[...]
>Minority of Baghdad Residents Condone Attacks on U.S. Forces
>
>Since President Bush declared an end to "major combat operations" on
>May 1, nearly 100 U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat in Iraq,
>many of them within the Baghdad metropolitan area itself.
>
>While opinions differ as to which specific groups are behind attacks
>on U.S. troops and what their motives are, a majority of Baghdad's
>residents -- 64% -- view them as either somewhat (22%) or completely
>(42%) unjustifiable.
>
>That said, a significant minority of Baghdad's residents are
>unwilling to condemn attacks against U.S. troops, at least under
>certain circumstances. Seventeen percent said that the current
>attacks on U.S. forces are sometimes justified, and sometimes not
>justified. Of greater concern is the fact that nearly one in five
>Baghdadis (19%) view the ongoing attacks as either somewhat (11%) or
>completely (8%) justifiable.