Iraqi Polling Shows Significant ImprovementThey really have to dig to find any negatives
in these results:
Surprisingly, given the insurgents' attacks on Iraqi civilians, more than six in 10 Iraqis feel very safe in their own neighborhoods, up sharply from just 40 percent in a poll in June 2004. And 61 percent say local security is good — up from 49 percent in the first ABC News poll in Iraq in February 2004.
Nonetheless, nationally, security is seen as the most pressing problem by far; 57 percent identify it as the country's top priority. Economic improvements are helping the public mood.
Average household incomes have soared by 60 percent in the last 20 months (to $263 a month), 70 percent of Iraqis rate their own economic situation positively, and consumer goods are sweeping the country. In early 2004, 6 percent of Iraqi households had cell phones; now it's 62 percent. Ownership of satellite dishes has nearly tripled, and many more families now own air conditioners (58 percent, up from 44 percent), cars, washing machines and kitchen appliances.That's a rather breathtaking improvement in conditions. Yes, they mostly want our military to leave (but not on Congressman Murtha's timetable). And there are some other clunkers in there as well, but overall it's not hard to see that some of that is the media's fault:
The number of Iraqis who say things are going well in their country overall is just 44 percent, far fewer than the 71 percent who say their own lives are going well. Fifty-two percent instead say the country is doing badly.You know how it is; if 71 percent of the people are saying their lives are going well, then it's hard to buy the notion that the country's doing poorly at the same time.
