Iraq Poll Shocker!

Iraqis are pissed off at occupation.

I know, it's baffling.

USA Today, CNN and Gallup conducted the poll which involves the opinions and feelings of 3,444 Iraqis, the largest and most detailed poll to date since the invasion of least year.

In contrast to the picture that the Bushies paint, the Iraqis are largely accepting of the 'insugents,' if not outright supportive. It should be noted that the poll was conducted BEFORE the current wave of U.S. - Iraqi violence. You needn't be a sociologist to tell which way the wind is blowing in Iraq at present. It is almost a certainty that Iraqi opinion has shifted further away from the the U.S and toward the 'insurgents.'

As Dylan remarked: "You don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."

Here's a snip(okay it's more of a big chunk) of the USA Poll article:

"I'm not ungrateful that they took away Saddam Hussein," says Salam Ahmed, 30, a Shiite businessman. "But the job is done. Thank you very much. See you later. Bye-bye."

'I would shoot ... right now'

Bearing the brunt of Iraqis' ill feeling: U.S. troops. The most visible symbol of the occupation, they are viewed by many Iraqis as uncaring, dangerous and lacking in respect for the country's people, religion and traditions.

The insurgents, by contrast, seem to be gaining broad acceptance, if not outright support. If the Kurds, who make up about 13% of the poll, are taken out of the equation, more than half of Iraqis say killing U.S. troops can be justified in at least some cases. But attacks against Iraqi police officers, who are U.S.-trained, are strongly condemned by the Iraqi people.

The Bush administration has contended that the growing resistance, which has killed at least 115 Americans this month, is the work of isolated cells of former regime members or religious fanatics, often from outside Iraq.

Iraqis interviewed in Baghdad say ordinary people have lost patience with the U.S. effort to crush the insurgency and rebuild Iraq.

"I would shoot at the Americans right now if I had the chance," says Abbas Kadhum Muia, 24, who owns a bicycle shop in Sadr City, a Shiite slum of 2 million people in Baghdad that was strongly anti-Saddam and once friendly to the Americans. "At the beginning ... there were no problems, but gradually they started to show disrespect (and) encroach on our rights, arresting people."

Sabah Yeldo, a Christian who owns a liquor store across town, says American failures have left the capital with higher crime and less-reliable services, including electricity. That is "making everybody look back and seriously consider having Saddam back again instead of the Americans."

"Seriously consider having Saddam back?" Boy, that has to hurt.

I've more to say about the poll, but I wanted to get it out right now. I'll append this blog entry later.

What hath Bush wrought?