Iraqis Want Democracy, Need Educating

Pollsters meeting in Phoenix say that their polling in Iraq indicates a strong desire for multiparty parliamentary democracy among Iraqis. At the same time, Iraqis don't know much about the intricacies of a democratic system -- hardly a surprise given their three decades of suffering under Saddam's brutal dictatorship.

According to the AP: "In the most recent Gallup poll, four in 10 said they preferred a multiparty parliamentary democracy -- that was the form of government most often mentioned. When Oxford Research International asked Iraqis in a separate poll to name the party they favored or the candidate they backed, the majority offered no preference on either question."

Also encouraging: "'Very low down the list is an Islamic theocracy, in which mullahs and religious leaders have a lot of influence, such as in Iran,' said [Gallop's director of international polling Richard] Burkholder, who polled in Baghdad in August and nationwide in late March and early April for CNN and USA Today."

Another result shows the resiliency of the spirit of many Iraqis, along with the necessity of moving ahead despite continued strife: "'One of the things that comes up again and again as a success in the transition so far is education,' [director of Oxford Research International Christoph] Sahm said. He also mentioned increasing trust in the Iraqi police and the new Iraqi army. 'When we see the images of war and terror on the TV screen,' Sahm said, 'it's hard to believe that behind all of this, many Iraqis are leading normal lives and going about their business.'"

This AP story was posted to Newsday's web site at 2:22 pm EDT. It'll be interesting to see how much play it receives in tomorrow's print media. After all, it's good news.