Iraqiis Are More Optimistic Than Americans

Well now, this certainly is odd. Those poor Iraqiis, remember them? Those innocent people who lived and flourished under the guiding hand of Saddam Hussein, whose futures we destroyed and whose lives we made miserable by giving them freedom?

It turns out they are overwhelmingly optimistic about their futures, according to the BBC.

How could this be? I mean, we destoyed their system of corrupt governance, we built and rebuilt their water, sewer, medical, and educational systems, and we are training hundreds of thousands of police units with the latest western techniques and equiping them with modern tools to combat lawlessness. They really ought to be misable.

The truth, of course, is that life in improving in Iraq. Throughout history, there is a significant period of civil unrest following the overthrowing of the previous government. Only the western media has forgotten this.

I suspect Iraqii women, who were previously denied access to education and other services and who are likely to be included in this poll in representative proportions, make up a large part of this voice of optimism.