As the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan presents a growing concern for U.S. officials due to popular uprisings, the Gallup polling organization has quietly documented a rapidly expanding unrest and instability in Iraq since the U.S. troop withdrawal.
“Widespread joblessness and weak infrastructure are fueling public discontent, even as Iraqi leaders engage in sectarian political power struggles,” wrote Steve Crabtree of Gallup.
In addition to a lack of adequate food, Iraqis are dismayed about roads, education and health care.
According to Gallup’s latest polling numbers, as reported last week, Iraqis’ satisfaction with their living standards dropped considerably in 2011. Gallup reports that sectarian conflict among Iraq’s top political leaders is jeopardizing the country’s tenuous stability, particularly since many Sunni Muslims have lost faith in the national government and judicial system.
The latest Gallup poll found that Iraqis rated their lives significantly worse in 2011 than in previous years and reported feeling more negative emotions. Economic hardship is a factor, especially when residents of the more economically developed Kurdistan region and separated from the polling results.
The proportion of Iraqis who said they had trouble affording food for their families in the past year doubled to 20% in September 2011 from 10% in March 2009. Conversely, Iraqis’ likelihood to be satisfied with their standard of living fell dramatically in 2011; in September about one-third were satisfied, down from half in October 2010.
Political crises, a wave of recent bombings attributed to the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda, arrests of hundreds of Sunni leaders, including the country’s vice president, have all set Iraq on a path toward a possible return to full-scale sectarian violence.
The Gallup numbers show that just 13 percent of Sunnis still express faith in the Shiite-led national government.
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