Poll of Iraqis Reveals Anger Toward U.S.By JOHN SOLOMON
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 15, 2004; 11:03 PMWASHINGTON - A poll of Iraqis commissioned by the U.S.-governing authority has provided the Bush administration a stark picture of anti-American sentiment - more than half of Iraqis believe they would be safer if U.S. troops simply left.
The poll, commissioned by the Coalition Provisional Authority last month but not released to the American public, also found radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is surging in popularity, 92 percent of Iraqis consider the United States an occupying force and more than half believe all Americans behave like those portrayed in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos.
--snip--
The coalition's confidence rating in May stood at 11 percent, down from 47 percent in November, while coalition forces had just 10 percent support. Nearly half of Iraqis said they felt unsafe in their neighborhoods.
And 55 percent of Iraqis reported to the pollsters they would feel safer if U.S. troops immediately left, nearly double the 28 percent who felt that way in January. Forty-one percent said Americans should leave immediately, and 45 percent said they preferred for U.S. forces to leave as soon as a permanent Iraqi govermnment is installed.
--snip--
Anger at Americans was evident in other aspects of the poll, including a rapid rise in popularity for al-Sadr, the Muslim cleric who has been leading insurgents fighting U.S.-led coalition forces.
The poll reported that 81 percent of Iraqis said they had an improved opinion of al- Sadr in May from three months earlier, and 64 percent said the acts of his insurgents had made Iraq more unified.
--snip--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44916-2004Jun15_2.htmlProf.Cole has a better analysis of the poll, at:--
http://www.juancole.com/2004_06_01_juancole_archive.html#108736144801952076from his I'll take one segment and elaborate on what movements/parties they are aligned with (in parenthesis):--
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Here is the breakdown of Iraqi politicians with regard to the percentage that say they support or strongly support them:
Ali Sistani: 70% -- (independent)
Muqtada al-Sadr 67% -- (independent)
Ibrahim Jaafari 58% -- (
al-Da'awa)
Ahmad al-Kubaisi 55% -- (Sunni
Board of Muslim `Ulama`)
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim 51% -- (
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq)
Harith al-Dhari 45% -- (Sunni
Board of Muslim `Ulama`)
Muhsin Abdul Hamid 45% -- (Sunni, collaborationist Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood,
Iraqi Islamic Party)
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum 44% -- (
al-Da'awa)
Adnan Pachachi 41%
Abdul Karim al-Muhammadawi 31% -- (
Iraqi Hizbu'llah)
Muwaffaq al-Rubaie 29%
Iyad Allawi 23% -- (
CIA,
Mi6)
Jalal Talabani 21% -- (
CIA,
PUK)
Massoud Barzani 19% -- (
CIA,
KDP)