Between Two Worlds

Powerline draws our attention to a new poll of 4,974 Iraqis living in and around Baghdad--printed in the Iraqi Arabic newspaper Alsabaah and translated by Haider Ajina. Instead of only hearing the gloom-and-doom reports of the liberal media, it's about time we actually started listening to the cautiously optimistic view of the Iraqi people themselves.

Will the security problems cause you to?

• Not come out and vote the day of elections = 18.3%
• Come out and vote the day of elections = 78.3%
• No opinion = 3.4%

Do you support military action against the terrorists?

• Yes = 87.7 %
• No = 11.1%
• Don’t Know = 1.2%

Meanwhile, a friend highly recommends the movie Voices of Iraq--now out on video. Here's a description from the website:

Voices of Iraq offers a unique opportunity to hear the diverse perspective of Iraqis on issues at the forefront of a global debate over war, terror and the prospects for democratic reform - directly from the street. Voices of Iraq is a ground-breaking documentary that does what no other film or news organization has done before.

The producers of Voices of Iraq distributed over 150 DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERAS across the entire country to enable everyday people - mothers, children, teachers, sheiks and even insurgents - to document their lives and their hopes amidst the upheaval of a nation being born.

Beginning amidst the Falluja uprising in April, going through the marshlands in the South, the Kurdish communities in the North and ending in September of this year, thousands of ordinary Iraqis became filmmakers to reveal the richness, complexity and emotion of their lives.

Voices of Iraq is an unprecedented film. This new documentary genre offers a unique window into what is happening in Iraq. Voices of Iraq has allowed Iraqis to tell their own story.

Finally, don't forget to take a look at Arthur Chrenkoff's roundup of the past two weeks' good news in Iraq.