FROM THE ARAB PRESS

Judging from news reports, some might think that my native Iraq is in a terrible mess. Not so. Critics see attacks on coalition troops as signs that Iraqis oppose US involvement. According to a British survey and an Iraqi poll, however, 76 per cent and 85 per cent of Baghdadis, respectively, favour the continued presence of US troops.

That's because Iraqis know, to the core of their marrow, that after 35 years of subjugation, brutality and isolation, they need help, and if the Americans left too early, disaster would likely ensue.

Considering the grip Saddam Hussain had on the country for 34 years and the complicity and loyalty he'd purchased, the attacks are not surprising, for Saddam's killers know they don't have a future in an Iraq without their boss' patronage and protection.

And the overwhelming majority of Iraqis oppose the attacks, knowing that they hinder efforts to rebuild, democratise and modernise the country. With Saddam's sons dead and three-quarters of the "most wanted" in custody, Iraqis are more and more assisting the campaign to destroy the remains of Saddam's terrorist apparatus.

Many who militated against toppling Saddam predicted that Iraq would descend into communal violence or civil war. Instead, Iraqis have worked together and closely with coalition authorities and troops. Local councils and courts are functioning throughout the country. Workers in schools, hospitals and government ministries have elected their own leaders – the first steps in self-government.

The seeds of democracy are sprouting, too, in the forms of private organisations and 150 new newspapers and magazines. A clean police force is being constituted, as is a defence force, to replace coalition troops. Roughly 30,000 troops and police from 30 countries are arriving, too.