Let me add this for the real news out of Iraq. FT: Iraq's rebel cleric gains surge in popularity An Iraqi poll to be released next week shows a surge in the popularity of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical young Shia cleric fighting coalition forces, and suggests nearly nine out of 10 Iraqis see US troops as occupiers and not liberators or peacekeepers.
The poll was conducted by the one-year-old Iraq Center for Research and Strategic Studies, which is considered reliable enough for the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority to have submitted questions to be included in the study. Although the results of any poll in Iraq's traumatised society should be taken with caution, the survey highlights the difficulties facing the US authorities in Baghdad as they confront Mr Sadr, who launched an insurgency against the US-led occupation last month. Conducted before the Abu Ghraib prisoners' scandal, it also suggests a severe erosion of American credibility even before Iraqis were confronted with images of torture at the hands of US soldiers. Saadoun Duleimi, head of the centre, said more than half of a representative sample - comprising 1,600 Shia, Sunni Arabs and Kurds polled in all Iraq's main regions - wanted coalition troops to leave Iraq. This compares with about 20 per cent in an October survey. Some 88 per cent of respondents said they now regarded coalition forces in Iraq as occupiers. "Iraqis always contrast American actions with American promises and there's now a wide gap in credibility," said Mr Duleimi, who belongs to one of the country's big Sunni tribes. "In this climate, fighting has given Moqtada credibility because he's the only Iraqi man who stood up against the occupation forces." The US authorities in Baghdad face an uphill battle to persuade Iraqis that the transfer of sovereignty on June 30 will mark the end of the US occupation. The removal of US troops was cited in the poll as a more urgent issue than the country's formal status. http://tinyurl.com/2sjrn The PR firm referred to in my previous post has close ties both to the Blair government and the UK Conservative Party. They had been known for representing McDonald's in the UK, a tough job, and promoting GM foods, another tough job. How will they do in Iraq, an even tougher job? Christian Science Monitor: Abu Ghraib served to deepen cynicism among mainstream Iraqis, says Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle East and international affairs at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. Professor Gerges doubts whether the ads - culturally sensitive though they may be - can be effective in the new climate. "Not only are they unlikely to influence public opinion [for the better], but they could have a counter effect because of the widening gap between the rhetoric of the US-led occupiers and their performance," says Gerges. "No ad campaign can repair the damage in the near future.... No PR gimmicks will dent the crisis of trust." http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0513/p11s02-woiq.html Gary Denton #1 on Google for liberal news
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