Most Iraqis Unhappy with Coalition Forces

A poll by an independent think tank shows that Iraqis are less and less enamored of their American 'liberators'. Over half the Iraqis surveyed seriously doubted that US-led coalition forces could improve safety conditions and worried about deteriorating security conditions. When asked about their preferred political model for a post-Saddam Iraq, more chose Iran than the US, although educated and skilled professionals ranked above Islamic clerics as the preferred leaders of a new government. Despite Washington's apparent efforts to help the Muslim world better understand the US, one Baghdad University professor suggested that more education might alter people's preferences. "Some of the people have no idea, for example, about the political system in France or Britain or even the United States," he said, "but they have at least some knowledge about the political system in Iran, so most of them choose it.'' – YaleGlobal