About a third of Iraqis say the US promotes terrorism “in general” while the black-clad, head chopping militants of Daesh — also "ISIS" or "ISIL" do so “specifically.” The statistics come from a recent report released by the State Department Inspector General.
About half of Iraq’s Sunnis and Shias completely oppose the coalition against ISIS, according to a report by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad’s counter-ISIS messaging unit. However, only about six percent of Kurds opposed the coalition.
“The embassy confronts active disinformation campaigns and residual suspicions about U.S. policy that undermine its messaging,” the report says.
The embassy works to counter ISIS propaganda about its gains by highlighting the success of Iraqi and coalition forces on the battlefield.
Despite these actions, the State Department report indicates Iraqi outlook on the US is declining. In December 2014, about 38 percent of Iraqis favored the US. That number stands at 18 percent as of August.
Still, Daesh doesn’t seem like a feasible alternative for the Iraqis. At least that’s what the State Department report shows. It was devised following polling held in October and November.
“Department polling shows that nearly all Iraqis have unfavorable views of ISIL and oppose its goals and tactics, with no significant variation across religious sects and ethnic groups,” the report says, using an alternate acronym for ISIS.
