Poll finds the unsurprising: Iraqis don't want "coalition" troops
A poll commissioned by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority last month isn't very heartening for the coalition. Among the results are that only 2 percent see the foreign troops as liberators, while 92 percent see them as occupiers. Those who want the troops to leave immediately were 41 percent, while 45 percent want to wait until a "permanent" Iraqi government was installed.
Whenever I've been thinking about the middle to long range future for Iraq recently, I've come to realize that while I still believe that we in the US (and those in the UK) should press to hold their leaders accountable for the lies that allowed them to exploit fear and get the backing for this invasion, we have to allow the fate of Iraq to become its own matter now. The damage is done. These are a resilient people, having survived decades of rule by what was essentially a brutal crime family. Like a natural disaster - earthquake, hurricane & drought all in one - the invasion of Iraq has turned everything there upside down. The people there need to have their own country back and decide their own fate. I have little doubt that a year from now will find the average Iraqi doing better than he is now. Simultaneously, though, I don't have any reason to suggest that they should be grateful to the US & UK for what's been done. Honestly, I don't.
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