Iraqis See Their Country Improving

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A bit of good news from Iraq, you probably won't ever see in the "drive by media". By Jamie Weinstein FrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, April 01, 2009 Things are looking brighter in Iraq, according to a recently released poll of Iraqis conducted at the end of February. The poll was sponsored by ABC, the BBC and Japan’s NHK. Asked how well things were going for them in their life, 65 percent of Iraqi respondents said things were going well for them. This is compared to 55 percent of Iraqis responding in a similar manner in February 2008 and just 39 percent saying life was going well for them in August 2007. On a personal level, Iraqis seem optimistic about their futures. Fifty-six percent of Iraqis believe that life will be better for them a year from now than it is today, while 22 percent of that 56 percent believe life will be “much” better. In a poll conducted in August 2007, only 29 percent of Iraqis believed life would be better for them in a year’s time. Asked about security in their local village or neighborhood, 84 percent of Iraqis responded by saying the situation was good. In August 2007, only 43 percent of Iraqis responded that way. Considering that just two years ago Iraq was convulsed in what appeared like never-ending violence, this is astonishing. Significantly, most Iraqis surveyed rejected the idea of an Islamic state and declared that they want a unified central democratic government. Sixty-four percent of those polled said they want to see a democracy established in Iraq, while only 19 percent said they wanted an Islamic state governed according to religious principles, and only 14 percent said they wanted a strongman dictator ruling the country. This support for democracy registers all across the board with over 60 percent of each major Iraqi ethnic subgroup (Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Shia Arabs) supporting a democratic political model. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=7C745C5B-10E6-443F-B9A6-208321C07CDE Whether or not one supported the Iraq War, they should recognize the progress that has been made since 2007. And they should root for Iraqis to overcome the many remaining obstacles in their way so that they can emerge when the dust settles as a strong, stable and hopefully democratic society. This would not only be positive for Iraq, but for the United States and the region as a whole. And, now I hear that President Obama is planning a "surge" into Afghanistan. Of course he would die before he ever called it a surge...