According to a recent survey conducted by two Michigan universities, 91.7 percent of Iraqis now oppose the presence of U.S. troops in their country — a nearly 20 percent increase since 2004. A big majority (76 percent) thinks the U.S. is in their country for the oil. The survey also found "a growing sense of powerlessness, pessimism about the future and insecurity. Among Iraqis as a whole, 59 percent of those surveyed in 2006 strongly agreed with the following statement: 'In Iraq these days life is unpredictable and dangerous.' That compares to 46 percent who strongly agreed in 2004."
The University of Michigan's
news release announcing the findings oddly omitted the statistic showing Iraqi opposition to the U.S. troop presence, choosing instead to highlight an increase to 41 percent in the number of Iraqis who support separation of religion and politics. According to sociologist Mansoor Moaddel, this means Iraqis are "moving closer to American values" (values that are apparently
rejected by the woman who put George W. Bush in the White House).
Mark Lynch, a professor of Middle East politics, has some additional analysis of the survey findings. Lynch is the author of a recent book, Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, al-Jazeera, and Middle East Politics Today, which examines the ways that Al-Jazeera and other satellite television stations have revolutionized Arab journalism and politics by breaking state control over information.