While the Bush administration implodes from the various scandals, the war in Iraq continues to claim American and Iraqi victims. The resistance has become fierce, with a number of massive bombings in Iraq on the 24th. Our media cover the bombings, the number of U.S. soldiers killed (rapidly nearing 2000), and the new military propensity to reveal "body counts" of Iraqi dead (claiming insurgents killed, while Iraqis frequently claim they are women and children). But they do not tell us much about Iraqis' attitudes towards the U.S. occupation.
The British Sunday Telegraph revealed a purported British military survey of Iraq in their Sunday edition here. According to the paper, the poll revealed the following:
- "[U]p to 65 per cent of Iraqi citizens support attacks and fewer than one per cent think Allied military involvement is helping to improve security in their country."
• 82 per cent are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops;
• less than one per cent of the population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security;
• 67 per cent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation;
• 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened;
• 72 per cent do not have confidence in the multi-national forces.
It will be interesting to see whether the media in this country pick up the story from the British press.