Posted on 09/27/2006 7:28:48 PM PDT by sgtyork
Al Qaeda has desicively lost the Iraqi battlefield.
Overall 94 percent have an unfavorable view of al Qaeda, with 82 percent expressing a very unfavorable view. Of all organizations and individuals assessed in this poll, it received the most negative ratings. The Shias and Kurds show similarly intense levels of opposition, with 95 percent and 93 percent respectively saying they have very unfavorable views. The Sunnis are also quite negative, but with less intensity. Seventy-seven percent express an unfavorable view, but only 38 percent are very unfavorable. Twenty-three percent express a favorable view (5% very).
Views of Osama bin Laden are only slightly less negative. Overall 93 percent have an unfavorable view, with 77 percent very unfavorable. Very unfavorable views are expressed by 87 percent of Kurds and 94 percent of Shias. Here again, the Sunnis are negative, but less unequivocally71 percent have an unfavorable view (23% very), and 29 percent a favorable view (3% very).
Iraqi confidence in Iraqi forces (as opposed to militias) is increasing while its confidence in US forces is decreasing. Given US policies there can be little doubt but that US forces have lost significant Shia support and gained some Sunni support. I suspect increasing number of Shia no longer believe that American forces are capable of protecting them and with increased confidence in their government's capabilities no longer fear the consequences of an American withdrawal.
It should be noted that Ayatolla Sistani retains his overwhelming popularity amongst the Shia. 95% approve of him. PM Maliki is running a strong second with 86% but al Sadr is trailing far behind with 51%. Nor are Iraqis interested in following Iran's lead.
Asked whether Iran is having a mostly positive or negative influence on the situation in Iraq, just 45 percent of Shias say it is having a positive influence (negative 28%, neutral 27%), while Irans influence is viewed a mostly negative by the Kurds (79%) and the Sunnis (94%).
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does a bit better among Shias, with 64 percent having a very (28%) or somewhat (36%) favorable view. But Kurds have a largely unfavorable view (very 43%, somewhat 34%) and the Sunnis an exceedingly unfavorable view (very 80%, somewhat 17%).
Syria is fairing even worse:
Most Shias (68%) think Syria is having a negative influence on Iraqs situation, as do most Kurds (63%). Sunnis are only mildly positive, with 41 percent having a favorable view (17% negative, 43% neutral).
The most worrisome is the popularity of Hezbollah though luckily it is confined to the Shia.
Hezbollah elicits highly polarized views. An overwhelming 91 percent of Shias have a very (50%) or somewhat favorable (41%) view of Hezbollah, while an equally large 93 percent of Kurds have a very (64%) or somewhat (29%) unfavorable view. Sunnis are also fairly negative, with 59 percent having a very (10%) or somewhat (49%) unfavorable view.
To sum up - Iraq is coming along better than the news project. Indeed, more and more Iraqis believe that they will be soon ready to stand on their own two feet. This optimistic assessment may to a large degree reflect their disappointment in the efficacy of the American forces but, all in all it is a positive development.
Do remember this when you read headlines accurately reporting that "most Iraqis Want US Troops Out Within a Year and Say US Presence Provoking More Conflict Than it is Preventing."
Like Regan said "We win, they lose." Take heart, America.
Between the suicide bombingsand the beheadings, they've lost plenty of those things...
Wow. Imagine the percentages if it wasn't for the MSM-- and the speeds we would have reached those percentages.
Al Q may have a higher percentage of supporters here in the US than they do in Iraq.
Al Qaeda - R.I.P (Rot in Pigblood)
Where was this article in the NYT? Must have missed it
Certainly in metropolitan areas such as Madison, WI, Ann Arbor MI and San Francisco.
Have any of you noticed the Arabs as a whole are very interested in carbombing, torture with drills, killing
children and their mothers at the market. No matter
what we are going to have to deal deciseively with them at some point we shouldnt wait till they have better weapons.
Isn't this really the best reply you can give to a Liberal who is against the war.
In my mind, we won the war in April 2003. We are now just taking out every Islamic hothead in the Middle East one by one on their own territory rather than in the US.
Al-Queada was never supported by the Iraqis. Al-Zarquai was in the kurdish controlled north.
Most of the violence is due to the various Militias between the Sunni, Shia and Kurds. And every group thinks they can beat the hell of the other two groups, the only thing stopping it is the US Forces.
If the US leaves, it will turn into a race to genocide.
Of all the things that disturb me about the war Iraq it's the aid and comfort that the Left and the MSM have given our enemies. It certainly can't be said how many of the 3,000 dead and tens of thousands wounded would not have been had the Left and the MSM joined with the rest of us to present a solid front to the enemy. But I believe this, that whatever those numbers would have been the blood of those brave men and women who fought and died will be on the hands of the Left and the MSM on that fearful day when each of us faces our maker and must give an accounting for our life. I wish I could take come comfort in the knowledge that those who have needlessly prolonged this war for their own political gain will have a price to pay, but the truth is I'll be so busy shucking and jiving trying to account for my own life I'll have little time for anything else!
Lucky for Al Qaida, they can still count on the Democrats for support.
SIX High Value Leaders have been captured or killed in September alone.
Amazing what you can find when you bypass the AP and Reuters and the Slimes
Absolutely sickening what they don't report. I can't post what I think of those douche bags.
Thanks to the left, I'd say al-Qaeda would enjoy better numbers in the U.S.
It's a pretty sad commentary on the times we live in when our enemy enjoys better poll ratings in our country than in the country where they are fighting.
An insult to douche bags, frankly.
BINGO
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.