Posted on 09/10/2007 5:32:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Overwhelming numbers of Iraqis say the U.S. troop buildup has worsened security and the prospects for economic and political progress in their country, according to a poll released Monday that provides a strikingly bleak appraisal of the war.
Forty-seven percent want American forces and their coalition allies to leave the country immediately, the survey showed, 12 points more than said so in a March poll as the troop increase was beginning. And 57 percent — including nearly all Sunnis and half of Shiites — said they consider attacks on coalition forces acceptable, a slight increase over the past half year.
The poll, conducted by ABC News, Britain's BBC, and Japan's public broadcaster NHK, was released at the start of a critical week in the fight by Democrats trying to force President Bush to begin a withdrawal.
Seventy percent in the survey said they believe security has worsened where the added forces were sent, with another 11 percent saying the buildup has had no effect. Similar numbers said security in other parts of the country has deteriorated and that overall economic and political conditions have declined.
Only a quarter said their own communities have become safer in the past half year. Every person interviewed in Baghdad and Anbar province, a Sunni-dominated area where Bush recently visited and cited progress, said the troop increase has worsened security.
Countrywide, a fourth reported nearby car bombs or suicide attacks in the past six months, with as many or slightly fewer saying they have seen snipers, sectarian fighting, kidnappings and unnecessary violence by coalition forces against citizens.
Just 39 percent said their lives were going well, while only a fifth said they think things in the country are going well. Minorities said they approve of the job being done by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or have confidence in U.S. and British forces.
Despite their pessimistic views of their lives, virtually all said that separating Iraqis along sectarian lines is bad for the country. Six in 10 said they wanted a unified country ruled by a central government in Baghdad.
Some interviewers conducting the survey reported encountering military operations or suicide attacks, and some were detained by government or militia forces, but all completed their work safely. A handful of interviewing locations had to be changed for security reasons.
The poll was conducted August 17 to 24 and involved face-to-face interviews in Arabic or Kurdish with 2,212 randomly chosen adult Iraqis from across the country. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, and was conducted by D3 Systems of Vienna, Va., and KA Research Limited of Istanbul.
Why were they able to conduct a poll after going so long without one?
Oh wait!
Security is now so AWESOME that you can actually go around and ask people.
“all intervewers returned safely.”
But how is that possible, security is getting worse not better.
My first reaction to this was “screw them.” because we know when we pull out too early that genocide will probably take place, as their military cannot step up yet.
I have come to the conclusion that some people really dont want freedom-and therefore Bush’s theory of spreading freedom is wrong. Islamic Law (Sharia) does not permit freedom of speech, thought, religion, etc, etc. Large majorities of Muslims want Sharia law imposed in every country.
You can’t spell crap without the AP...
Well said, sir.
5th General Order.
Semper Fi.
I want an independent audit of that poll.
These are not words from a legitimate poll. Methinks someone is cooking the books here.
Sure they did ... I am rather disenchanted with Polls at this moment since .... the LAMESTREAM MEDIA works fervently to portray a picture they wish for the world to see....for their own personal agenda.
As the (overwhelmingly)American forces bring order and security to their lives the Iraqis are feeling less threatened and, perversely, they see less need for us to be there. We are a victim of our own success. This poll is a measure of our effectiveness
INcoming!!!! :-}
Quotes on the House hearing on Iraq
AP
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1894306/posts
I know that General Petraeus is a big boy - he handled himself so beautifully in spite of the unprecedented outrageous rudeness he had to put up with from those stupid Commies in Congress - but I hurt so badly for him.
Everyone of those barbarians should be voted out of office.
As citizens, I wish we could make citizen arrests on them!
And to think Rep. Duncan Hunter has had to work with them on a daily basis! He kept his cool, too, in his outstanding prologue speech. Two great Americans. Hunter and Petreaus!
In other news, the Sionnsar Holey Independent Testing Survey revealed in a survey of 926,286,667 Iraqis that 94% of Iraqis think that life is better today than under Saddam, 23% think it is worse, and 19% declined to answer because they’re infiltrators from Iran or elsewhere and didn’t want to distort the poll results.
Here’s a gem left out of all major accounts of this poll but in the full data:
“There are some improvements, but they’re sparse and inconsistent. Thirty-eight percent
in Anbar province, a focal point of the surge, now rate local security positively; none did
so six months ago. In Baghdad fewer now describe themselves as feeling completely
unsafe in their own neighborhoods – 58 percent, down from 84 percent.”
http://abcnews.go.com/images/US/1043a1IraqWhereThingsStand.pdf
ROTFL!!!! Now there's three credible sources. Funny stuff.
Paperdoll, I truly admire your gentle nature.
I am still processing the full report but it seems clear that the details of the ABC survey show the exact opposit of the headlines.
In Anbar and Bagdad security has improved dramatically— more than 25%. This means the surge— which focused on these two areas specifically did work incredibly well..
Moreover, the implications for democrats are even more devastating.
Where British troops have pulled out in the dramatic fashion desired by defeatocrats— the Iraqi pullout complains about the collapse of security.
It looks like surge works and pullout fails.
What I see is hard to define, is this spin or anti-spin? lol
Ya know, I don’t really care what the “Iraqi” people think anyway. I’m one of those persons that has no problem clearly stating that this war and the one in Afganistan is about enhancing AMERICAN security and protecting AMERICAN interests. If Iraqis and Afgans gain, in the long term, a free country, then that is just a bonus effect.
The Taliban was harboring Bin Landin in Afganistan, and they had to be overthrown. The Iraqi people continued to allow Saddam to be a thorn in our side and a constant source of concern. So, I have no problems in our taking out that government, regardless of the presence or absence of WMDs. It was in AMERICA’s best interests.
Now I’m not someone advocating American colonialism, and I hope that eventually stable, free, and AMERICAN friendly governments can be set up in both countries that will serve the people of those lands and give them peace and other ideals.
However, in the present, I personnally see these folks as CONQUERED people, and I don’t care what they think about us. They can either like us or they can be made to fear and dread us more than insurgents and Iran. I would prefer the former, but am quite content with the latter if they can’t get their acts together.
Since they are a CONQUERED people, then maybe we should start treating them that way. My goodness, it isn’t as if they love and adore us. If they are going to call us imperialists, then let us give them a taste of imperialism so that we can eventually pacify them.
I prefer that we make the lives of Afgans and Iraqis better, but I demand that, if nothing more, we pacify them regardless of how heavy handed we must be.
Yep, I believe in polls. If I want a day of gulf I poll my kids. If I want to paint the garage, I poll my wife.
Same with most polls … I can direct my questions toward the demographic that will give me the response I’m looking for.
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