Do the Iraqis want us out?

Not according to a recent poll by the BBC.

Almost since the war began, liberals have been claiming that one of the reasons we should withdraw is because the Iraqis do not want us there. 2000 Iraqis were asked (unambiguously) in this poll whether or not they wanted us to remain. This poll makes it very clear that a large majority want us to remain.

The poll had a few more surprises as well. Another liberal assumption that they often project as if it were fact is that Iraq is currently embroiled in a civil war. However the poll showed that most Iraqis do not seem to agree. 56% of those polled claim that Iraq is not in a civil war.

The real issue seems to be the definition of what a civil war is. The liberal definition seems to be unreasonably broad. According to them, a violent conflict between two factions for control of the nation is a civil war. But by that definition, most nations on Earth would be in a civil war...even the US.

The majority of Iraqis appear to agree with the rest of us that the factions must be sufficiently large to merit the label of "civil war". And the insurgency in Iraq accounts for a tiny fraction of the overall population. Therefore, it is unreasonable to call it a civil war. It would be like saying the US is in a civil war because we are combating the KKK or the Mafia.

Many liberals have also been suggesting for a long time that the easiest way to solve the problem is to simply give each of the major factions their own state. It is unreaqsonable, they insist, to impose a single state solution on them when it is "obvious" that they do not want to live with each other.

But the poll suggests somthing much different; by a large margin, they want a single state solution. Even a majority of Kurds, who have wanted their own autonomy for a long time, said they would rather have a single unified Iraq. More than that, a VAST majority (94%) of those polled said they would not want to divide along sectarian lines.

So the will is obviously there. Despite all the problems they have with each other, despite the daily violence, they are still willing to try to live together.

They had something to say about their neighbors as well. They are apparently not blind to the fact that Iran, Syria, and even Saudia Arabia have their hands in the Iraq pie, trying to destabalize their new democracy.

The poll had a great deal of negative items as well. Support for Coalition forces has declined sharply, and qualifty of life has suffered a great deal. The poll does indicate that they do not believe we are making the best decisions. But it is very clear that despite this, they see the US as a means to a better life. That they do believe we will succeed eventually. A majority polled said they expect that their children will have a better life than they had.

Given the problems (both internal and external) problems with the transition were to be expected. But even the Iraqis themselves believe we will probably succeed.