More bad (good) news from Iraq

[Gonz]

"DAMNIT!!! Why can't they just shut up & die? Quit making us look foolish" said one liberal in the greater San Francisco area who frequents these boards.

The results show that the Iraqi public is more sensible, stable and moderate than commonly portrayed, and that Iraq is not so fanatical, or resentful of the U.S., after all. • Iraqis are optimistic. Seven out of 10 say they expect their country and their personal lives will be better five years from now. On both fronts, 32% say things will become much better. • The toughest part of reconstructing their nation, Iraqis say by 3 to 1, will be politics, not economics. They are nervous about democracy. Asked which is closer to their own view--"Democracy can work well in Iraq," or "Democracy is a Western way of doing things"--five out of 10 said democracy is Western and won't work in Iraq. One in 10 wasn't sure. And four out of 10 said democracy can work in Iraq.

Wall Street Journal

 

[flavio]

Why can't they just shut up & die?

Did somebody really say that or have you had to resort to making things up in absence of a legitimate position?

Seven out of 10 say they expect their country and their personal lives will be better five years from now.

LOL! Obviously looking forward 5 years because they realize that one way or another Bush will be gone by then.

 

[A.B.Normal]

“Today, we have sacrificed ourselves to defend our honor and pride,” read the typed statement, embossed with traditional religious invocations in floral, Arabic script. “We have sacrificed our souls for the sake of Islam, sacrificed our souls to get rid of the monkeys, pigs, Jews and Christians. To all our brothers and sisters, we prevail on you to be joyful with us.”

But in this Sunni Muslim town colored in shades of brown and intersected by canals of open sewage, Fahdawi and the others who died are celebrated as heroes. Neighbors and relatives call them defenders of faith, not supporters of former president Saddam Hussein. And in their words, actions and ideas, relatives say, the men represent a homegrown movement, grounded in a militant reading of religion, that augurs a new enemy for the occupation.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/969506.asp?0cl=c3

 

[A.B.Normal]

Asked individually Iraqis may respond like those in Gonz's article ,but in reality they will do what ever there religious leaders ask of them.(I felt this comment needed a seperate post)

 

[Gonz]

I disagree. They are a smart & individual based nation, unlike some in the area. It's just been repressed for 25 years. This story from last week is pretty decent.

While officials fear that the freewheeling Iraqi media may dangerously skew public opinion, there's an important reason why such concerns may be overstated: Though they read the newspapers and watch the TV news, most Iraqis seem very skeptical. Many think all media outlets have religious or political agendas.

In truth, many Iraqi newspapers are controlled by political parties, religious organizations and wealthy former exiles with political ambitions.

"We completely don't think of these new newspapers, not even for cleaning," says Hattem Hassan al-Abbas, 73, who owns the Al Talie Cafe. On a recent day, nine old men in traditional Arab robes are in the cafe, drinking tea, playing dominoes and discussing current events.

"The majority of the local press are lying," al-Abbas says. "The newspapers in Saddam's day were lying as well. So we are used to it."

Al-Jazeera ranks "below the median," says Muhsin Hamid Akar, 32, who sells satellite phones in Baghdad. "They present facts from their point of view, not the point of view of the Iraqi," he says. "They made Saddam Hussein into a pan-Arab hero. The big lie of Al-Jazeera continued until the last day of the war."

USA Today

 

[flavio]

It's fascinating that 7 out of 10 people think that things will be better after 5 years of rebuilding stuff then they are right now just after it was blown up.

 

[ris]

i have hope that iraq is a much stable and improved place in 5 years. i am optimistic that the coalition and the rest of the international community won't fail iraq the way that afghanistan has been left to fester.

but while the taleban are still contolling areas of afghanistan and the northen alliance have shown themselves to be just as brutal and violent a regime our promises to that nation still remain unfulfilled guardian online. iraq must look on with concern that once the us and uk's attention is diverted they too could be left to rot.