ABCNEWS, BBC and Time Rate Iraq in 2004

March 14, 2004 -- -- Almost a year after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, five teams of reporters from ABCNEWS, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and Time magazine fanned out across Iraq to assess the situation in the oil-rich, battle-scarred Middle Eastern nation.

In the second such assessment of the country since the Iraq War began, three news teams from ABCNEWS, one from Time and another from the BBC visited 36 cities and towns across the country and conducted interviews with more than 1,300 Iraqis.

Like the first comprehensive assessment -- which was conducted six months after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003 -- the teams discussed a range of social, cultural, political and economic conditions with average Iraqis.

The topics included security, health care, education, electricity, water supply, the quality of local government, the availability of jobs and the availability of goods -- issues that were assessed in depth four months ago.

But this time, the project was more comprehensive than it was at the six-month mark, with more areas covered and more interviews conducted.

For all the assessment criteria earmarked, news teams asked Iraqis: Has the situation improved? Worsened? Or have things remained roughly as they were before the war began? The results were often fractious, sometimes surprising, but always illuminating.

What We Found

By nearly every quantifiable measure, the situation has improved since before the war -- and also since our last effort.

However, the one exception -- security -- also happens to be the yardstick that Iraqis say matters most.

Iraqis by a wide margin express optimism for the future -- and believe democracy can take hold; they are less certain that the country is ready for elections.

Any credit or praise for the United States is heavily tempered; roughly eight in 10 Iraqis told us the Americans have not kept their promises -- and they frequently told our reporters they blame the United States for problems in their lives.

Traffic and other transportation problems have become a major concern. In central Iraq, people ranked this their second-highest priority.

‘Eating Each Other’

Interestingly, two seminal events since our last visit -- the capture of Saddam Hussein and the announcement of a political handover on June 30 -- get limited attention.

And even when Iraqis acknowledge and appreciate progress, they do not necessarily credit the United States for the change.

One year later, attitudes toward the United States are fraught with contradictions. Many people who cheered the capture of Saddam Hussein also deplored the "humiliating" way it was carried out.

Iraqis often say they do not like seeing U.S. soldiers on their streets -- but many would also agree with the crude assessment a 66-year-old tailor in Kut gave to Time magazine's Terry McCarthy: "If the Americans leave now, everyone will start eating each other."

Iraq today is at a historic moment and assessing the situation in the country is a complex and subtle affair. That could help explain why, as ABCNEWS' Bob Woodruff says, "Everywhere in Iraq, the good news often comes with bad news."

Security:

Security, more than anything else, is the most pressing concern among Iraqis today, transcending tribal, ethnic, class, gender and geographical divides.

More than half the people interviewed by all five news teams said it was their top anxiety. This is particularly so in the restive "Sunni triangle" region of central Iraq.

Health Care:

Four months ago, ABCNEWS and Time news teams found most Iraqis believed their health system has worsened since the war.

But this time, although doctors and NGOs warned us that the Coalition Provisional Authority and Iraqi officials were conducting a "PR campaign" of sorts, we concluded that the health-care situation has improved dramatically in all parts of the country.

Education:

By all accounts, education seems to be post-war Iraq's undisputed success story in all three regions of the country.

Electricity:

While electricity was a hot-button issue in the immediate aftermath of the war, news teams found the importance of the issue had receded. But that could well revert once the blistering Iraqi summer starts.

Overall, we found electricity levels are better in the north and south, but worse in and around Baghdad.

Water Supply:

The water sanitation situation has seen the least movement -- positive or negative -- since before the war.

While most Iraqis had mixed assessments, officials at the International Rescue Committee said water quality for the country as a whole had improved "without a doubt."

Quality of Local Government:

As with the six-month assessment, local governance remained a hard issue to judge, primarily because prior to the war, no such structures existed.

In many places, the mere creation of city councils is an improvement, and much capital and energy has been expended to legitimize these councils.

Availability of Jobs:

Unemployment remains a pressing problem in central and southern Iraq, although the situation is improving in the north.

With the CPA now functioning directly or indirectly as the new paymaster in town, Iraqis who are working have seen their salaries soar.

Availability of Goods

The markets are stocked, the shelves are loaded and the commercial explosion that had begun six months after President Bush declared an end to major combat operation is now entrenched.