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NYT reportage

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/world/…

BAGHDAD, June 4 – They started college just before or after the American invasion with dreams of new friends and parties, brilliant teachers and advanced degrees that would lead to stellar jobs, marriage and children. Success seemed well within their grasp.

Four years later, Iraq’s college graduates are ending their studies shattered and eager to leave the country. In interviews with more than 30 students from seven universities, all but four said they hoped to flee immediately after receiving their degrees…

Given that recent polls in Iraq have shown a strong majority of people think that things are better now than they were under Saddam, is this NYT reporting (a) cherry picking quotes to make things look as bad as possible, or (b) just reflecting the fact that the educated class almost everywhere in the third world wants to leave ?

By the way, I find it suspicious that, amidst a long lament of US missteps (supplied, not by Iraqis, but by the NYT writer), the article doesn’t once tell us where these Iraqis want to flee to.

I’ll bet $10 that most of them say “The US”.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 6:49 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “NYT reportage”

  1. Joshua W. Burton Says:
    June 5th, 2007 at 9:02 am

    Given that recent polls in Iraq have shown a strong majority of people think that things are better now than they were under Saddam …

    It’s an interesting premise. Turtledove? Stirling? Murdoch?

    I’ll bet $10 that most of them say “The US”.

    Then what are we waiting for?

  2. tjic Says:
    June 5th, 2007 at 9:33 am

    BBC. March 2007.

    43% say “better than spring 2003″, 22% say “about the same”.

    I’ll correct my previous statement of “a strong majority of people think that things are better now than they were under Saddam” to “a strong majority of people think that things are as good or better now than they were under Saddam”.

    Given that Sunnis are going to lament “their” loss of undemocratic, dictatorial power, I think these stats are dandy, although, of course, the downward trend over the past 24 months is suboptimal.

    Then what are we waiting for?

    I have no idea why your government does what it does with regards to immigration.

  3. Joshua W. Burton Says:
    June 6th, 2007 at 2:28 am

    things are as good or better …
    Sunnis are going to lament …
    these stats are dandy …

    Grant: Well, Meade, it’s been a big job.

    Meade: Yes, sir.

    Grant: We’ve had courage and determination. And we’ve had wits, to beat a great soldier. I’d say that to any man. But it’s Abraham Lincoln, Meade, who has kept us a great cause clean to fight for. It does a man’s heart good to know he’s given victory to such a man to handle.