"Survey finds optimism in new Iraq"

Speaking of good news... the majority of Iraqis tend to think that their life is good and have high hopes for the future! That's fabulous!! I also thought it was interesting that police rated as the institution the people trusted the most, with religious leaders and the new Iraqi army right behind. Considering all the reports of corruption and cronyism it is really good to see that people trust their "public safety" institutions to protect them!

Could we be doing a better job over there? Absolutely! Are we doing a terrible job? Not necessarily. The US troops (endearingly dubbed "Occupational forces" in contrast to the "Great liberators" we dubbed ourselves) are trusted the least, but we should not withdraw until there is a safe and stable democracy thriving in Iraq. And that could and will take years.