A show of hands

[parihaka]

This follows on from another thread and I thought it best to start a new one with a poll
Who here would prefer that the coalition forces had not invaded Iraq and Saddam Hussein was still in power?

 

[sigatoka]

This follows on from another thread and I thought it best to start a new one with a poll
Who here would prefer that the coalition forces had not invaded Iraq and Saddam Hussein was still in power?

The way questions are phrased can affect the show of hands. Who here prefers the indiscriminate mass murder and rape in Iraq now to the relative peace that prevailed before?

 

[parihaka]

The way questions are phrased can affect the show of hands. Who here prefers the indiscriminate mass murder and rape in Iraq now to the relative peace that prevailed before?

Exactly, which is why I have left the question simple and unleading.

 

[sigatoka]

Exactly, which is why I have left the question simple and unleading.

Unleading in your opinion, i stated the facts as much as you did.

 

[MrConcerned]

sigtoka, you're such a c**k.

 

[sigatoka]

sigtoka, you're such a c**k.

lol, why? I was stating a well known fact. Slightly changing the way questionares are structured can give very different results. Thats why researches like to use the same questionarre over a period of time to measure how opinion changes.

 

[Lahori paa jee]

Invasion of Iraq was a mistake and the whole world just sat back and witnessed the killings of thousands of innocent civilians. First at the hands of coalition forces and now by the bomb blasts from resistance forces desparately trying to rid their country of US and Allied Forcers.

Had Saddam been in his place many families would not have lost their loved ones, many teenage girls would not have been raped and the world would have been a better place for Saddam had no nuclear weapons

 

[Neo]

I'd like to know if you guys consider Iraq and the rest of the world a better and safer place to be since Saddam is removed?

Who is incharge in Iraq, is it the pseudo Iraqi givernment or foreign powers?

 

[parihaka]

Okay, so with this in mind, and all you know of what Saddam did to his people (the mass graves are easily googled, that many hundreds of thousands people died under his rule) do you believe the Iraqi people are better off or worse off now?

 

[parihaka]

I'd like to know if you guys consider Iraq and the rest of the world a better and safer place to be since Saddam is removed?

Who is incharge in Iraq, is it the pseudo Iraqi givernment or foreign powers?

On pure statistics of death rates, I believe the Iraqi people are better off.

 

[parihaka]

This survey makes interesting reading

Survey finds hope in occupied Iraq
An opinion poll suggests most Iraqis feel their lives have improved since the war in Iraq began about a year ago.
The survey, carried out for the BBC and other broadcasters, also suggests many are optimistic about the next 12 months and opposed to violence.
But of the 2,500 people questioned, 85% said the restoration of public security must be a major priority.
Opinion was split about who should be responsible, with an Iraqi government scoring highest.
Creating job opportunities was rated more likely to improve security effectively than hiring more police. However on various issues, there were stark differences of opinion according to region or ethnic group.
About 6,000 interviews were carried out in total, half in Autumn last year and half this Spring, in a project run by Oxford Research International.
Seventy per cent of people said that things were going well or quite well in their lives, while only 29% felt things were bad.
And 56% said that things were better now than they were before the war.
Th poll company's director Dr Christoph Sahm, said Iraqis trained as interviewers travelled around the country to speak to randomly selected people in their homes.
The survey reflected Iraq's distribution of population, balance between men and women, and religious and ethnic mix. Dr Sahm said: "I would call it very extensive; It is a national survey and it is also representative... the key finding is that Iraqis don't want to break up the country."
Meanwhile, an ICM poll of British attitudes about the Iraq war for BBC Newsnight's special programme, One Year On - Iraq, reveals that 48% of those questioned thought taking military action was the right thing to do; 43% thought it was not.
There is an almost even split on whether the war was legal, while 34% of interviewees believe the war has contributed to the security of the UK against 55% who believe it has not.
US 'will take heart'
In the poll of Iraqis, nearly 80% favoured a unified state with a central government in Baghdad; only 14% opted for a system of regional governments combined with a federal authority. The majority was even bigger among Iraqi Arabs, but for the Kurdish minority, the situation was reversed, with more than 70% backing a federal system.
There is an existing Kurdish regional government in the north, the powers of which were recognised by Iraq's interim constitution, signed last week.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Barnaby Mason says the American and British governments will take some comfort from the results.
The survey shows overwhelming disapproval of political violence, especially of attacks on the Iraqi police but also on American and other coalition forces.
But among Arabs, nearly one in five told the pollsters that attacks on coalition forces were acceptable.
About 15% say foreign forces should leave Iraq now, but many more say they should stay until an Iraqi government is in place or security is restored.
Looking back, more Iraqis think the invasion was right than wrong, although 41% felt that the invasion "humiliated Iraq".
But by ethnicity, only one in three Arabs believed their country was liberated - compared to four out of five Kurds.
Safety conscious
Dan Plesch, a security expert at Birkbeck college in London said that the poll was good news for the leaders of countries who began the invasion a year ago this week. "This poll indicates that Iraqis strongly support a unified country with strong leadership. They don't want to see the country divided up and they don't want to see an Islamic government."
Regaining security is rated as by far the highest priority at 85%, followed by holding elections for a national government (30%), ensuring the majority of Iraqis can make a decent living (30%) and reviving the economy (28%).
And only just over a third of people report that their electricity supply is good.
A key concern for the Americans as they prepare to hand over power in June is the unpopularity of the people they are putting in place.
Leaders unloved
Their favoured son Ahmed Chalabi had no support at all, while Saddam Hussein remains one of the six most popular politicians in the country.
Dr Mustafa Alani of the Royal United Services Institute said that the Iraqis wanted a strong leader, but had not found one yet.
"The main point is that the Iraqis are now looking for a strong leader who can save the day.
"As long as the governing council is considered illegitimate and illegal in Iraq, I think they will have to work hard to find something more legitimate and more legal before they disengage from the country."

Source
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3514504.stm

full poll
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/15_03_04_iraqsurvey.pdf

 

[Awesome]

This follows on from another thread and I thought it best to start a new one with a poll
Who here would prefer that the coalition forces had not invaded Iraq and Saddam Hussein was still in power?

Aren't you laying the typical right-wing bait while framing that question in such a way?

Who here would not like to have seen the invasion? Many of us.

Who here would like to see Saddam in power? Not many of us.

Who here thinks Saddam's removal made even a damn of a difference to Iraq? Not many of us

Who here think's that's because of the US invasion? Many of us.

So even though you may feign simplicity in phrasing that question, you're seen guilty here of you know what. Sig was prompt to call you on that.

 

[parihaka]

Aren't you laying the typical right-wing bait while framing that question in such a way?

Who here would not like to have seen the invasion? Many of us.

Who here would like to see Saddam in power? Not many of us.

Do you think Saddam would still be in power if the invasion had not occured? I really can't see him as being removed otherwise, so how much simpler can I make it?

Who here thinks Saddam's removal made even a damn of a difference to Iraq? Not many of us

I do, less people have died because Saddam was removed

So even though you may feign simplicity in phrasing that question, you're seen guilty here of you know what. Sig was prompt to call you on that.

As I said, I don't think I can make it simpler than that, other than to say "should saddam have been removed?" If you wan't that discussion to go forward, feel free.
If on the other hand you think "Who here prefers the indiscriminate mass murder and rape in Iraq now to the relative peace that prevailed before?" as not slanting the question and I might add having scant regard for the truth, I'd suggest it's you and Sig who are 'baiting", not me

 

[Awesome]

Do you think Saddam would still be in power if the invasion had not occured? I really can't see him as being removed otherwise, so how much simpler can I make it?

What's the point of removing him off power if your invasion doesn't bring about anything better?

I do, less people have died because Saddam was removed

Count. And keep counting for the next coupla years.

The Americans made an ugly mess out of Iraq. Saddam was one man messing up Iraq, not it's a whole bunch of American politicians (little tiny behind the scenes Saddams) calling the shots.

If you wan't that discussion to go forward, feel free

All angles should be presented. When you cleverly disguise your angle under the garb of proving validity for an invasion gone so wrong, then thats not presentation of all Angles. Thats selection of an angle. That's propaganda.

We're all free to discuss... Just my two cents on the issue.

 

[Sid]

The most recent thing I read about Iraq is that behind the scenes senior officials in Iraq and US are already talking about partitioning Iraq, though the plan obviously has its fair share of critics.