Nothing could be more provocative. Leaving aside questions so far as I can tell unraised about how easy it is to do an opinion poll in Iraq, this is very interesting. You see, apparently Iraqis are happier, only 1 in 4 believe there is a civil war going on, and over half are sure things will get better as the external forces leave Iraq. This in the face of almost everyone knowing someone who was kidnapped or someone who had a family member kidnapped.

This is interesting. We in the west, myself included, love to pontificate about the situation a world away. We speak based on second hand information from what can only be described as biased reporting. Why do I say this? Because if two out of three iraqis “believe military operations now under way will disarm all militias” then it seems obvious that they acknowledge the need for external forces to be present even if they also believe they need to be leaving Iraq for Iraq to come around completely.

So how is it that we believe the Iraqis as a whole hate the Americans and other forces in Iraq? It seems that it is only because we listen to and believe the loudest voices. The voices of those who preach their message of hate and incite violence among the malcontents. The voices of those from other foreign countries such as Iran that tell us we are wrong to be there, while helping those who would overthrow an attempt at self govenrnance by the people of Iraq. We listen to the voices and ignore the majority who believe that life is getting better and will continue to do so. Even in the face of extreme hardship.

I for one feel betrayed again by the purveyors of “fact” for once again twisting the story to suit their perceptions en masse.

UPDATE:  I messed up that sentence near the top, it originally said 1 in 4 don’t believe there is a civil war going on, I should have said, “only 1 in 4 believe there is a civil war going on”.  It makes a bit of difference.