Iraqis Back New Leaders, Poll Says

The Washington Post is reporting that the Iraqis overwhelming support the new interim government.

Some key numbers.

68 percent of Iraqis have confidence in their new leaders

73 percent of Iraqis polled approved of Allawi to lead the new government

84 percent approved of President Ghazi Yawar

two-thirds backed the new Cabinet

Four out of every five Iraqis expected that the new government will "make things better" for Iraq

In a sign that Iraqis are more optimistic generally about their future after the occupation ends, two-thirds of Iraqis believed the first democratic elections for a new national assembly -- tentatively set for December or January -- will be free and fair, the survey shows.

Despite the growing number of attacks on Iraqi security forces, including several yesterday, public confidence in the new police and army has reached new highs, the poll shows. Seventy percent of Iraqis polled supported the new army, and 82 percent supported the police.

I couldn't find any reporting of this on the BBC website. No surprise there.

I don't know if it will still be there when you visit the site, but there is an advert for John Kerry appearing on the same page. Talk about bad advertisement placing!

I'll post a picture of the web page in case the ad goes away.
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