We still aren’t viewed as “liberators.”
A U.S.-sponsored poll shows Iraqis have lost confidence in the occupying authorities–and that the vast majority of Iraqis want Coalition troops out of the country ‘immediately.’
The first survey of Iraqis sponsored by the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal shows that most say they would feel safer if Coalition forces left immediately, without even waiting for elections scheduled for next year. An overwhelming majority, about 80 percent, also say they have “no confidence” in either the U.S. civilian authorities or coalition forces. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed also said they believed violent attacks have increased around the country because “people have lost faith in the coalition forces.”
The poll numbers were reflected in the anger seen in the streets of Baghdad after a series of car bombings on Monday. While U.S forces and Iraqi police hung back, crowds set some of the vehicles on fire, threw bricks and shouted insults at U.S. soldiers. According to the poll, a mere one percent of Iraqis now feel that the coalition forces contribute most to their sense of security; only 18 percent described Iraqi police the same way. By contrast, a total of 71 percent said they depended mostly on their family and friends and neighbors for security.
It’s tough to spin this. The administration will no doubt argue, “It’s great that Iraqis are now free to express their opinions,” but that’s cold comfort when we see that they don’t want us in their country anymore.