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Iraq Poll Finds Poverty Main Worry, Sadr Popular
SOFIA (bnn)- Iraqis care more about declining living standards than U.S. promises of political freedom, and prefer a rebel cleric hunted by U.S. forces to most mainstream politicians, according to a poll due for release next week.
The survey revealed a sharp drop in the number of Iraqis who view U.S. troops as liberators -- just seven percent when the poll was taken last month, compared to over 40% six months ago.
The survey revealed a sharp drop in the number of Iraqis who view U.S. troops as liberators -- just seven percent when the poll was taken last month, compared to over 40% six months ago.
More than 40% of Iraqis would feel safer if U.S. troops left Iraq now, a preview of the poll showed.
Based partly on questions provided by the U.S. occupation authority, the survey taken by the Iraqi Center for Research and Strategic Studies indicated widespread indifference to the process Washington promises will lead to elections next year.
Sadoun al-Dulame, head of the center, said the poll of 1,640 people across Iraq suggested failure to make good on promises of reconstruction had now caught up with the U.S. administration.
"We said that if the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) does not give specific attention to economic and social problems they are going to face serious problems," he said.
Iraqis polled in Baghdad and six provinces last month ranked Moqtada al-Sadr, the rebel cleric whose militia U.S. forces have been trying to crush for weeks, among the top three figures in the country.
Thirty-one percent of respondents said they strongly supported Sadr -- compared to 50% for Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the top religious authority for majority Shiites -- compared to single digits three months ago, Dulame said.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the head of a large Shiite party, received strong support from 38% of respondents, with most leading political figures, including others mooted for top posts in an interim government, faring poorly.
Seventy-seven percent said they supported no political party, and more than 85% said they had no interest in candidacy for elected office.
Sixty-nine percent said there was someone unemployed in their household and 67.5% of those said they had been out of work for more than four months.
In what Dulame saw as an ominous sign for a country many fear could split along sectarian or ethnic lines, 44% said they had a very favorable opinion of religious groups, compared to Iraq's other institutions.
"This is dangerous," he said. "No one should be encouraging any Islamist activity now, or we are going to see very bitter fruits from it."
http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?sid=5158
Based partly on questions provided by the U.S. occupation authority, the survey taken by the Iraqi Center for Research and Strategic Studies indicated widespread indifference to the process Washington promises will lead to elections next year.
Sadoun al-Dulame, head of the center, said the poll of 1,640 people across Iraq suggested failure to make good on promises of reconstruction had now caught up with the U.S. administration.
"We said that if the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) does not give specific attention to economic and social problems they are going to face serious problems," he said.
Iraqis polled in Baghdad and six provinces last month ranked Moqtada al-Sadr, the rebel cleric whose militia U.S. forces have been trying to crush for weeks, among the top three figures in the country.
Thirty-one percent of respondents said they strongly supported Sadr -- compared to 50% for Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the top religious authority for majority Shiites -- compared to single digits three months ago, Dulame said.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the head of a large Shiite party, received strong support from 38% of respondents, with most leading political figures, including others mooted for top posts in an interim government, faring poorly.
Seventy-seven percent said they supported no political party, and more than 85% said they had no interest in candidacy for elected office.
Sixty-nine percent said there was someone unemployed in their household and 67.5% of those said they had been out of work for more than four months.
In what Dulame saw as an ominous sign for a country many fear could split along sectarian or ethnic lines, 44% said they had a very favorable opinion of religious groups, compared to Iraq's other institutions.
"This is dangerous," he said. "No one should be encouraging any Islamist activity now, or we are going to see very bitter fruits from it."
http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?sid=5158
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