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March 19, 2007

Those Iraqis Don't Know What's Good for Them

The news is chock full of mixed messages today about how content the Iraqi people are with their new life sans Saddam Hussein. In one story we read that a new poll shows most Iraqis are optimistic and believe life is better now than it was then (this apparently despite the fact that one in four has had a family member murdered, and in Baghdad, one in four has had a relative kidnapped). Meanwhile, another story citing a different poll says Iraqis are increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country and unhappy about their lives. According to this story, less than 40% of Iraqis say their life is good. Two years ago, 71% of Iraqis said they had a good life.

In another story, we read that an Iraqi weightlifting champion and former prisoner at Abu Ghraib (thanks to Uday Hussein), who inspired the world by pounding through the concrete base of a statue of Saddam four years ago, now says he regrets it because "the Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day." According to the poll cited in this report, only 49% of Iraqis say life is better now, while 26% say it is worse.

I, for one, am confused by all of this. But I do know one thing: I'm definitely smarter than a neo-con.

Posted by Becky at March 19, 2007 03:49 PM