Grim picture of Iraq's condition
Iraq, Politics, 5/6/2006

A poll conducted this March to find out what Iraqis think paints a very pessimistic picture of life and conditions in Iraq.

An International Republican Institute poll shows that only 30% of Iraqis think the country is going in the right direction, with 52% saying it is going in the wrong direction, and others were unsure. Bad security was on top of the list of concerns.

Pessimism is growing considerably. The poll shows a growing trend in the number of Iraqis who think the situation in Iraq is worse or much worse than a year ago, and the number of Iraqis who one year ago thought the situation was "better" or "much better" had declined considerably in number. The same trend holds for Iraqis expectation about the future where the percentage of those who thought the future would be better is down to 39% from last year when it was 48%. For expectations about future improvement in 5 years, the figures are even worse, declining from 57% a year ago down to 26% who now think things will be "much better."

77 percent of Iraqis see security conditions as the same, worse or much worse than a year ago when this number was 56%. 76% of them described the security condition as poor.

Iraqis see the unemployment situation as worse than a year ago, with the number of Iraqi who see the situation as "much worse" doubling from 12% to 24% of the population. Those who thought wages were "bad" or "much worse" went in numbers from 18% of Iraqis to a staggering 74% of the population. 53% described the economic conditions as poor.

Regarding corruption, the numbers are even worse. Less than a year ago, the number of Iraqis who though corruption was worse than before was 9% of the population. This March, the number jumped to 38% who think corruption is worse. Also, last July, only 3% of Iraqis though corruption is not only worse but "much worse," and this March, the number of Iraqis thinking corruption is "much worse" jumped ten folds to 30% of Iraqis.

Security and infrastructure topped the Iraqis concerns. 47% thought that Iraqis should move ahead to amend the constitution as promised in their agreement when the constitution was adopted.

45% thought politicians should not use religion or ethnicity in political campaigns versus 30% who thought they should.

96% of Iraqis thought the attack on the Shiite religious shrine in Samarra to be wrong form of political expression. 62% percent see Iraqi as more politically divided than in the past. A majority of Iraqis think federalism is wrong and want power to be concentrated in Baghdad.

Iraqis have little to no trust in the Iraqi militias or foreign forces for their security, and by a majority trust the Iraqi police and army for their security.

Previous Stories:
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  Iraqi president says relationship with neighbors good   (5/5/2006)
  Sunnis seek to rewrite parts of the constitution   (5/3/2006)
  Iraqi army faces serious problem   (5/3/2006)
  Senator Biden: one Iraq with three regions   (5/3/2006)
  7 US soldiers killed in Iraq   (5/2/2006)
  US sees progress on Iraqi unity government   (4/28/2006)
  3 US soldiers die in Iraq   (4/22/2006)

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