Pour Some Gallup Poll Results on Me

Posted on November 12th, 2003 by

The Coalition Provisional Authority has posted additional results and analysis from a Gallup poll conducted in Baghdad in late August/early September. The findings, to put it kindly, are a very mixed bag — and some defy our feeble analytical skills. To wit:

  • nearly all Baghdadis -- 94% -- think the city is now a more dangerous place for them to live since invasion, and 60% said there have been times during the past four weeks when they or their families were afraid to go outside their homes
    during the day.

  • nearly one in five Baghdadis (19%) view the ongoing attacks [on US troops] as either somewhat (11%) or completely (8%)
    justifiable.

  • the large majority of Baghdad residents (70%) say that in the future, women should follow more traditional/conservative roles than they did before the invasion --
    a sentiment echoed nearly equally by both men (72%) and women. In comparison to some other Middle Eastern countries, the status of women in Iraqi society was relatively liberal under Saddam Hussein.

  • A third (33%) say Iraq is already "much
    better off" (4%) or "somewhat better off" (29%) than before the
    invasion, but those saying so are outnumbered by those who say it is
    currently "much worse off" (15%) or "somewhat worse off" (32%) than
    before.

  • The fact that the United States and Britain led the military action that
    toppled the former regime does not translate into favorable sentiment
    for these nations -- indeed France, which resolutely opposed a second
    Security Council resolution sanctioning military action, is held in significantly higher regard [than the US and Britain] by those in Iraq's capital city.     Appraisals of both the United States and Britain, however, are more likely to be negative than positive.

  • Less than a third (29%) of Baghdadis hold a favorable view of President
    George W. Bush (just 9% like him very much), and fewer still -- just
    one in five (20%) -- view British Prime Minister Tony Blair positively
    (6% like him very much).

  • Much, though not all, of the positive light in which France is held also
    extends to French President Jacques Chirac: 42% say they view Chirac
    favorably (11% like him very much), while 20% have an unfavorable
    view (12% do not like him at all) of the French leader.

  • Although more than a decade of severe economic sanctions were imposed under its auspices, Baghdad residents are considerably more the event.
    likely to view the United Nations favorably (50%) than unfavorably (20%). In fact, of the seven U.N. member states rated, only Japan (60%), France (55%), and Germany (53%) -- the latter two both
    outspoken opponents of the coalition invasion -- are more likely than the United Nations to be viewed favorably.
     [Emphasis added; all quotes from Gallup poll documents posted on the CPA web site.]

    I spent over $100bn to free the Iraqi people and all I got me is a favorability rating 13 points lower than Jacques Chirac’s.

    Discuss.

     
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