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Iraq: Where Things Stand
March 19, 2007 7:58 AM
Polling Director Gary Langer blogs about how we conducted our national public opinion poll in Iraq four years after the war began:
I picked up 130 new heroes this past month. One hundred-thirty men and women who fanned out across Iraq, some in some relatively peaceful areas and others in horribly dangerous ones, armed with nothing more than sheaves of paper, a few pencils and perhaps a sense they were doing important work.
These were the interviewers and field supervisors who produced our national public opinion poll in Iraq. All Iraqis, trained in the principles and practice of survey research, they knocked on more than 3,000 doors in 458 neighborhoods and villages from the Persian Gulf to the Turkish border.
Most of those doors opened. And our interviewers went in, sat down, and asked our questions.
What's your life like here?
Do you think it'll get better in the coming year?
What's the biggest problem? What about the basics -- clean water, electricity, economic opportunity? How much confidence do you have in the government, the police, the army, U.S. forces?
What about violence -- any of that nearby here? Kidnappings, cab bombs, snipers, fighting between armed forces, abuse of civilians? Do you have friends or family who've been hurt? How's it affecting your own life, the things you do, the way you feel?
These and more questions, enough to fill a half-hour interview. Our interviewers took photos when they were permitted to do so, even a little video. They filled out field journals describing their experiences. Most completed their assignments relatively uneventfully. Some were detained by the police. Others witnessed bombings, shootings, kidnappings and beatings -- episodes of the random violence and loss that we now better understand are occurring across Iraq.
Two thousand, two-hundred and twelve interviews later we have our answers. The picture is neither a happy nor a pretty one. But it's compelling and necessary, and there was no other way to get it but through the efforts of these 130 researchers who made it possible for us to tell the story of life in today's Iraq.
March 19, 2007 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (4)
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I enjoy your broadcasting most of the time, but it seems as though you are getting more and more one sided in your reporting of the Iraq War. Ever wonder what we would of heard from the Germans as we defeated them and overseen the reconstruction of there government, ever notice we still have military bases there. Or how about the Japenese after we dropped two atomic bombs on there major city's, killing and injoring millions of innocent poeple, didn't ever see any poles taken from them. I think there is a line in reporting that you need to consider crossing, that you can cause your Country more harm than good. Let's face it, no war is pleasant for anyone, but sometimes it is necessary to defend our nation from those who wouldn't think twice about killing all of us because of our belief is different from there's. I think you need to get back to balanced reporting and not trying to out do your compitition,or express your own political agenda.
Just a thought !
Posted by: Sam | Mar 19, 2007 7:37:47 PM
In Reply to Sam:
George W. Bush is NOT FDR nor is he Harry Truman and this is NOT WWII. Iraq did NOT invade another country or sweep across europe like the Nazi's did. Saddam was a broken dictator and Iraq was contained.
Saddam and Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11 and Osama bin Laden is STILL FREE.
How many Americans and Iraqi's have been killed and wounded in this colossal mistake?
Posted by: Knight | Mar 24, 2007 8:02:50 AM
Since no improvement is being made on the Iraq War, we need to spend our resources on other issues such as global poverty in order to discourage more terrorism and wars. According to the Borgen Project, in reality only .16% of our federal budget is spent on poverty reduction, the least among wealthy nations. We should let our representatives know that we want change.
Posted by: marie2 | Mar 28, 2007 2:50:46 PM
Only the president knows why we should still be in Iraq. People should stop talking about a subject they know little about. No one will be saying these things when we get out of the war because it will come here.I love the way we support our own country. This country is laughed at on a daily basis because all we talk about is how bad our president is and how this war is pointless. I would like to see all the people that talk about peace to go over to Iraq and reason with the people. Does everyone forget about what happened on 9/11 and the soldiers that have lost their lives in this war? Massive amounts of our people lost their lives. War has been a part of life for a long time and it will always be a sad thing. People should not disgrace their president and the soldiers the way this country has. I wouldn't consider this a UNITED nation anymore.It's sad.
Rosie O'Donnell should go to Iraq and try to make peace since she thinks it can easily be made.And until she goes to Iraq herself ,has no right to speak of it.
Posted by: jersey25 | Mar 31, 2007 7:59:23 PM
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