UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY THINK

One key finding is the deep skepticism Iraqis have regarding all sources of information. Though scores of publications and broadcasters are appearing, many Iraqis told us with pride that they rely on "friends and neighbors" for their news. The rumor mill is very powerful indeed.

Iraqis tend to be unenthusiastic about political leaders -- whether newly emerging insiders or those recently returned from exile. Cynicism is especially acute regarding those who were the objects of vilification campaigns by the previous regime.

Moreover, Iraqis' frame of reference for interpreting current events is grounded in a past where facts and critical analysis were seldom available through the media. Though we found nearly universal satisfaction that Saddam Hussein is gone, a quarter-century of his propaganda lives on in the minds of Iraqis.

Anti-American and anti-Jewish vitriol is thoroughly embedded, shaping the ways Iraqis interpret events. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are doing the bidding of "Zionist" interests, some believe, and Israelis are buying houses and land in Iraq. One woman in Najaf says that a majority of the foreign soldiers are Jewish -- further evidence of a plot to keep Iraq down while the coalition, in cahoots with Israel, steals Iraq's natural resources.

Even more troubling is a broadly shared belief that the postwar chaos is actually part of the U.S. plan. What critics in the West see as poor planning for the postwar situation is interpreted by Iraqis as deliberate. They presume a country as obviously powerful as the United States does what it wants, in precisely the way it wants. A middle-aged Shiite woman in one focus group in Karbala said, "We think that they absolutely know and understand the total situation. They know about everything. They enjoy watching this. We don't know why they do this."

Few participants in our groups believe the United States is motivated by a desire to do what is best for Iraq. Rather, they think the United States invaded "for its own interests." By this, they do not mean the United States acted for reasons of national security but to boost the American economy and steal Iraq's oil. The United States has thus made a rapid transition from enemy in war to liberator to occupier, all in the span of five short months.