MORE MATURE THAN THE CRITICS:

Build on Iraqi hopes (Bathsheba Crocker and Doug Henry, August 9, 2004, Baltimore Sun)

Findings from a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, using seven Iraqi researchers, describe a people clinging to the hope for light at the end of the tunnel. The researchers elicited Iraqi viewpoints on security, governance, economic opportunity, services and social well-being.

The interviews open a window into whether the United States is making progress in Iraq from the perspective of the country's people, a voice that largely has been missing. They do not lay out a road map for how or when the United States should leave Iraq, but suggest some conclusions that should guide U.S. policy in the coming months.

Iraqis continue to believe their country will move forward despite the almost overwhelming current difficulties. [...]

Iraqis in most of the country - the survey was not conducted in the major southern city of Basra - are gaining comfort from the growing presence of Iraqi police and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and National Guard, all of which seem to command great respect. [...]

The majority Shiites (with the exception of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's supporters) seem pleased with the interim government and their opportunity to take center stage. The minority Sunnis in Al Anbar Province, who were supporters of Saddam Hussein, dismiss the interim government as a U.S. puppet. Iraqis are desperate for any government that can restore public safety; most seem to be giving the new government a chance.

Unemployment in Iraq is an estimated 25 percent to 60 percent. Many of those interviewed confirmed that they lack a steady income or rely on school-age children to supplement the family income. Yet Iraqis maintain a rosy outlook about their economic prospects, with some hoping direct foreign investment will turn the tide since they think of Iraq as a wealthy country because of its oil resources.

Iraqis were most negative when discussing the abysmal state of basic services; they generally understand the term "reconstruction" to mean being provided with electric power. Because the coalition has failed for 16 months to deliver a functioning electricity system, many Iraqis simply said that reconstruction hasn't started.

For example, Fallujah gets two hours of power followed by eight-hour blackouts; Baghdad has electricity about 50 percent of the time; Mosul's power, water and sanitation systems barely function.

Iraqis largely were positive when discussing their health and education systems. The end of U.N. sanctions, which had a devastating impact on health care in particular, produced high expectations for quick improvement. Iraqi optimism on this score is fueled by visible signs of foreign aid, from a local health clinic in Mosul to a new college in Fallujah.

The Iraqis interviewed suggest a population with continued sanguinity but also a restiveness and dissatisfaction that cannot be ignored. Progress is possible, but to make progress the United States must pursue policies that capitalize on Iraqi optimism, prioritize Iraqi goals and shore up the fledgling Iraqi institutions in which the population has placed so much hope.

They're more optimistic about their country than American Democrats are about ours.

MORE:
-Taking the Field: A roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq. (ARTHUR CHRENKOFF, August 16, 2004, Wall Street Journal)

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 16, 2004 5:41 PM