POLLS ON IRAQ: "THOSE WITH FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE ARE THE MOST OPTIMISTIC"

MAX BOOT:

"A large majority of the American public is convinced that the liberation of Iraq was a mistake, while a smaller but growing number thinks that we are losing and that we need to pull out soon. Those sentiments are echoed by finger-in-the-wind politicians, including many — such as John Kerry, Harry Reid, John Edwards, John Murtha and Bill Clinton — who supported the invasion.

Yet in a survey last month from the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, 47% of Iraqis polled said their country was headed in the right direction, as opposed to 37% who said they thought that it was going in the wrong direction. And 56% thought things would be better in six months. Only 16% thought they would be worse.

American soldiers are also much more optimistic than American civilians. The Pew Research Center and the Council on Foreign Relations just released a survey of American elites that found that 64% of military officers are confident that we will succeed in establishing a stable democracy in Iraq. The comparable figures for journalists and academics are 33% and 27%, respectively. Even more impressive than the Pew poll is the evidence of how our service members are voting with their feet. Although both the Army and the Marine Corps are having trouble attracting fresh recruits — no surprise, given the state of public opinion regarding Iraq — reenlistment rates continue to exceed expectations. Veterans are expressing their confidence in the war effort by signing up to continue fighting.

Now, it could be that the Iraqi public and the U.S. armed forces are delusional. Maybe things really are on an irreversible downward slope. But before reaching such an apocalyptic conclusion, stop to consider why so many with firsthand experience have more hope than those without any. ... here are also positive economic indicators that receive little or no coverage in the Western media. For all the insurgents' attempts to sabotage the Iraqi economy, the Brookings Institution reports that per capita income has doubled since 2003 and is now 30% higher than it was before the war. Thanks primarily to the increase in oil prices, the Iraqi economy is projected to grow at a whopping 16.8% next year. According to Brookings' Iraq index, there are five times more cars on the streets than in Saddam Hussein's day, five times more telephone subscribers and 32 times more Internet users.

The growth of the independent media — a prerequisite of liberal democracy — is even more inspiring. Before 2003 there was not a single independent media outlet in Iraq. Today, Brookings reports, there are 44 commercial TV stations, 72 radio stations and more than 100 newspapers.

But aren't bombs still going off at an alarming rate? Of course. It's almost impossible to stop a few thousand fanatics who are willing to commit suicide to slaughter others.

Yet there is hope on the security front. Since the Jan. 30 election, not a single Iraqi unit has crumbled in battle, according to Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, who until September was in charge of their training. Iraqi soldiers are showing impressive determination in fighting the terrorists, notwithstanding the terrible casualties they have taken. Their increasing success is evident on "Route Irish," from Baghdad International Airport. Once the most dangerous road in Iraq, it is now one of the safest. The last coalition fatality there that was a result of enemy action occurred in March."

The MSM and the Dem/Left are NOT objective when it comes to Iraq. They see this conflict the way they saw the Vietnam War - and they'd like to foment the same result: THEY'D LIKE THE USA TO ABANDON IRAQ THE WAY WE ABANDONED SOUTH VIETNAM. (And their handling of ther Iraq War reflects this agenda MORE than it reflects the facts on the ground. Their TV reports and speeches reflect this feeling. They feel this way because they have BDS and because post-modern Leftism is essentially hostile the West, bourgoise culture, America and to Judeo-Christian values. This is why they overvalue multiculturalism, multilateralism and the UN, and moral relativism. And this is why they underestimate the emnity of our enemy. PROOF OF THIS: Murtha's Resolution proposes we NEGOTIATE with the jihadoterrorists; (scroll down for a post on this). And the constsnat refain from the Left that "you can't IMPOSE democracy" - as if personal liberty were not inherent in each person, but an artifact of culture.

If the MSM and the Dem/Left were more objective - and more favorably disposed to Judeo-Christian values and patriotism, then they'd be more supportive of our efforts in Iraq. And theri reporting and speeches wouldn't UNDERCUT our efforts,m but make them EVEN MORE LIKELY to succeed.

Instead, they make victory LESS LIKELY - and this seems to make them happy - gets their juices flowing. As the wise man said: essentially - and for all intents and purposes - they're not anti-war; they're on the othe side.