They are skewed numbers.  Four of the six cities polled (Baghdad, Hillah,
Diwaniyah and Baquba 2/3) are in the Sunni Triangle (although it represen=
ts
only the most hostile 15% of the Iraqi population, but since it's where t=
he
action is, it's also where the press concentrate), and even Mosul is Sunn=
i;
the only Shi'ite city represented is Basra, and no Kurdish city is includ=
ed.
Hardly surprising, coming from Newsweek, a magazine that has opposed the
Iraqi intervention since Day One.=0D
=0D
-------Original Message-------=0D
=0D
From: virus@lucifer.com=0D
Date: 06/16/04 11:37:57=0D
To: virus@lucifer.com=0D
Subject: RE: virus: That Dirty Feeling=0D
=0D
Eva-Lise Carlstrom=0D
Sent: 16 June 2004 05:07 PM=0D
=0D
Those articles all appear to be from a year or so ago.=0D
=0D
[Blunderov] A more recent poll.=0D
Best Regards=0D
=0D
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5217874/site/newsweek/=0D
<q>=0D
Grim Numbers=0D
A U.S.-sponsored poll shows Iraqis have lost confidence in the occupying=0D
authorities--and that the majority of Iraqis want Coalition troops out of=
=0D
the country 'immediately'=0D
=0D
By Michael Hirsh=0D
Newsweek=0D
Updated: 4:55 p.m. ET June 15, 2004June 15 - The first survey of Iraqis=0D
sponsored by the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority after the Abu Ghrai=
b=0D
prison scandal shows that most say they would feel safer if Coalition for=
ces=0D
left immediately, without even waiting for elections scheduled for next=0D
year. An overwhelming majority, about 80 percent, also say they have "no=0D
confidence" in either the U.S. civilian authorities or coalition forces.=0D
=0D
Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed also said they believed violent=0D
attacks have increased around the country because "people have lost faith=
in=0D
the coalition forces."=0D
=0D
The poll numbers were reflected in the anger seen in the streets of Baghd=
ad=0D
after a series of car bombings on Monday. While U.S forces and Iraqi poli=
ce=0D
hung back, crowds set some of the vehicles on fire, threw bricks and shou=
ted=0D
insults at U.S. soldiers. According to the poll, a mere one percent of=0D
Iraqis now feel that the coalition forces contribute most to their sense =
of=0D
security; only 18 percent described Iraqi police the same way. By contras=
t,=0D
a total of 71 percent said they depended mostly on their family and frien=
ds=0D
and neighbors for security.=0D
=0D
The poll results which have not been released publicly but were obtained =
by=0D
NEWSWEEK, indicate that the April publication of photos depicting the abu=
se=0D
of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison accelerated a long-term decline i=
n=0D
support for the U.S. occupation. Of the Iraqis surveyed, 71 percent said=0D
they had been surprised by the Abu Ghraib revelations. Most, however, sai=
d=0D
they now believe the abuses were widespread. Fifty-four percent agreed wi=
th=0D
the statement that "all Americans behave this way," and 61 percent said t=
hey=0D
believed no one would be punished for the abuses. A CPA spokesman said=0D
Tuesday that he had not yet examined the numbers.=0D
=0D
Taken from May 14 to May 23, the survey also shows a sharp rise in the=0D
popularity of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, with 81 percent sayi=
ng=0D
they had either a better or much better or better opinion of him than the=
y=0D
did three months earlier. Sadr's Al Mahdi Army has been engaged in a bloo=
dy=0D
standoff with U.S. forces in the cities of Kufa and Najaf for more than t=
wo=0D
months. His popularity among leading Iraqi public figures is exceeded onl=
y=0D
by that of another Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who was=0D
"strongly supported" by 51 percent of Iraqis and "somewhat supported" by=0D
another 19 percent.=0D
=0D
The news for the newly designated Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, was =
not=0D
as good. While the poll was taken just before he was named to head the ne=
w=0D
interim government, 61 percent said they either strongly oppose or somewh=
at=0D
oppose Allawi, a former exile once backed by the CIA. Only 23 percent sai=
d=0D
they somewhat support or strongly support him.=0D
=0D
On the positive side, the poll showed that 63 percent of Iraqis believe t=
hat=0D
installing the interim Iraqi government will make things "better" for Ira=
q,=0D
with only 15 percent saying thing will be worse. The survey also indicate=
d=0D
that most Iraqis display continuing confidence in the new Iraqi police an=
d=0D
army.=0D
=0D
The poll reflects an inexorable decline in support for the U.S. occupatio=
n=0D
since the fall of Baghdad over a year ago. In November of 2003, 47 percen=
t=0D
of those surveyed still expressed confidence in the CPA; those figures=0D
plummeted to 9 percent in April and 11 percent in May. In the latest surv=
ey,=0D
81 percent of Iraqis also expressed "no confidence" in Coalition forces.=0D
Seventy-eight percent expressed the same grim opinion of the outgoing CPA=
,=0D
which is slated to dissolve when sovereignty is handed over to the interi=
m=0D
government on June 30. The survey does show a marginal uptick in support =
for=0D
the CPA and coalition forces since April, but that small increase falls=0D
within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent. Fifty-sev=
en=0D
percent of those surveyed also expressed no confidence in the United=0D
Nations.=0D
=0D
The survey underlines just how much Coalition forces, which have struggle=
d=0D
unsuccessfully to crush an insurgency that has targeted increasing number=
s=0D
of Iraqis, as well as power lines and other facilities, seem to have lost=
=0D
the faith of most Iraqis. In November of 2003, just 11 percent of Iraqis=0D
said they would feel "more safe" if coalition forces left immediately; th=
at=0D
number rose to 28 percent in January. Today 55 percent of Iraqis say they=
=0D
would feel safer if coalition forces departed right away, even though the=
=0D
Bush administration has indicated they would stay on at least until the=0D
Iraqi elections in 2005. A whopping 69 percent also want the CPA to play =
no=0D
role at all in the selection of an independent election commission.=0D
=0D
The poll consisted of face-to-face interviews with 1,093 people selected=0D
randomly in six Iraqi cities and towns: Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Hillah,=0D
Diwaniyah and Baquba. It was conducted by the Independent Institute for=0D
Administration and Civil Society Studies, a CPA- sponsored Iraqi survey=0D
group.=0D
=0D
C 2004 Newsweek, Inc. </q>=0D
=0D
=0D
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