It's time for troops to go, Iraqis say

[narcjen]

We've overstayed our welcome, haven't we?

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USA Today
April 29, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two-thirds of the Iraqi people now believe that the American-led occupation of their country is doing more harm than good, and a majority support an immediate military pullout even though they fear that they could be in greater danger, according to a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll.

...
But while they acknowledge benefits from dumping Hussein a year ago, Iraqis no longer see the presence of the American-led military as a plus. Asked whether they view the coalition as liberators or occupiers, 71 percent of all respondents say occupiers. That figure reaches 81 percent if the separatist, pro-U.S. Kurdish minority in northern Iraq is not included.

...
In the multiethnic Baghdad area, where a Gallup Poll last summer of 1,178 residents permits a valid comparison, only 13 percent of the people now say the invasion of Iraq was morally justifiable. In the 2003 poll, more than twice that number saw the invasion as the right thing to do.

...
Americans regard their men and women in uniform as liberators who are trying to help Iraq. But the Iraqis now see them as a threat, question their purpose and focus their anger on them. "When they pass by on the street, we are curious, so we go out to look, and they immediately point their gun at you," says Abbas Kadhum Muia, a bicycle shop owner in Sadr City.

[narcjen]

1. Except for the Kurds, such feelings are widely held among Iraqis:

• Two-thirds say soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition make no attempt to keep ordinary Iraqis from being killed or wounded during exchanges of gunfire.

• Nearly 58 percent say the soldiers conduct themselves badly or very badly.

• More than 60 percent say the troops show disrespect for Iraqi people in searches of their homes, and 42 percent say U.S. forces have shown disrespect toward mosques.

• 46 percent say the soldiers show a lack of respect for Iraqi women.

Overall, only 11 percent of Iraqis say coalition forces are trying hard to restore basic services such as electricity and clean drinking water.

Bearing the brunt of Iraqis' ill feeling: members of the U.S. military. The most visible symbol of the occupation, they are viewed by many Iraqis as uncaring, dangerous and lacking in respect for the country's people, religion and traditions.

The insurgents, by contrast, seem to be gaining broad acceptance, if not outright support, for strikes against Americans.

[freetobegay]

2. The ungrateful bastards!

Sarcasm off.

[mike_c]

3. the bombing will continue...

...until gratitude improves.