Future, According to Iraqis, Looking Grim

ABC News has recently conducted a third poll of Iraqi citizens. This survey, which began on the 25^th of February and ended on the 5^th of March, 2007, was published last week. The results are based on the responses of 2,212 Iraqis who were polled in 458 areas of the country.

The subject of the poll was the status of and situation in Iraq. ABC News wanted to know where things stand, and their findings indicate a much greater sense of frustration and negativity.

What started as a hope for peace has now become a desperate struggle to survive, as more than double the previous number of people feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods. In the last poll, taken during November of 2005, 36% of those questioned felt unsafe. This number has now risen to 74%.

Also according to the poll taken in late 2005, 46% of those surveyed believed the situation in Iraq was better than it had been prior to the spring of 2003. Figures representing those who felt things were the same and worse are 13% and 39%, respectively, with 2% having no opinion on the matter.

This year, the results show the opposite. While those believing things are about the same has fallen to 12%, 50% now believe the time between the start of the war and now has made things, whereas only 37% believe things are better.

Many newsrooms have reported that the Iraqi citizens still welcome our military, but this poll shows startling evidence of the contrary. When ABC News conducted its very first poll in February of 2004, 51% of those questioned opposed the existence of U.S. forces in Iraq. This number has risen to 78% now, with 51% (up from the prior figure of 17%) now considering violence against the U.S. forces stationed there as acceptable.

The poll also assessed the existence of strife-related stress among Iraqi citizens. The question was separated into four categories: feelings of anger, feelings of depression, trouble sleeping, and difficulty concentrating.

The results all indicate figures either rising above or bordering on three-quarters of the population. 82% feel angry, 77% feel depressed, 75% have trouble sleeping, and 72% have difficultly concentrating. In addition to this, 71% of those polled experience at least three of the stress categories.

In a question designed to determine preferences for the future structure of Iraq, the percentage of citizens who indicated their support for a unified country has fallen in each survey. It began in 2004 at 79%, then fell to 70% in 2005, and now sits at 58%. In conjunction with these findings, the percentage indicating those who support regional states or separated independent states has consistently risen.

One of the most interesting results comes in under the question, "Is Iraq in a Civil War?" While the overall results indicate a 42% belief that the country is experiencing a civil war, when broken into the sects of Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and Shiites, results are astonishingly divided. The largest belief is present in the Sunni Arab population (62%), whereas the lowest results came from the Shiite population (28%). The Kurdish populate falls somewhere in the middle with 49%.

The future of Iraq is unknown, as is the place of the United States in this future. It is certain, however, that the number of Iraqis who disapprove of the situation in their home country continues to grow.