Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies

The Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies (ICRSS) is an independent" think tank in Baghdad. The Centre was established in May 2003 by Saadoun al Duleimi, the Centre's director, "who has a PhD in social psychology from Keele University."

Now Iraq's Defense Minister, al Duleimi is a "member of a powerful Sunni Arab tribe from the Western Anbar province" and a "former lieutenant-colonel in Iraq's army who left the country in 1984 and lived in exile in Saudi Arabia until dictator Saddam Hussein lost power in 2003." Duleimi "spent the year before the war in Washington [DC] training with other exiles to take up the reins of power in Iraq once the fighting was over." 

Poll Positions
"From a simple, gardenia-scented office at the Iraqi Center for Research and Strategic Studies, the independent think tank he founded, [al Duleimi] became a reliable analyst for foreign journalists who were trying to make sense of Iraq's bloody path to democracy," Hannah Allam reported September 16, 2005, for Knight Ridder.

"Using his poll results as backup, al Duleimi deemed the war a disaster that ushered in Islamic extremism, foreign occupation and the fragmentation of Iraqis along sectarian and ethnic lines. After one of his earliest surveys on Iraqi feelings toward the United States, he found 'the people no longer think of Bush as a liberator. They consider him a liar.'

"In al Duleimi's assortment of published comments from the past two years, Sunni clerics were described as fundamentalists, the new crop of Shiite leaders was too close to Iran and 'most of the peshmerga cannot even speak Arabic,' he said of the Kurdish militias that are now the backbone of his military.

"He was also gloomy about Iraq's elections last January, saying America 'didn't come all this way across the continents to offer Iraqis democracy. They will not let the Iraqis choose a government unless it is already favored by them'," Allam wrote.

"In interviews last year, al Duleimi described the conservative Shiite leader Ibrahim al Jaafari as 'still dreaming about' turning Iraq into a theocracy. He warned that controversial politician Ahmad Chalabi 'cannot rely on Iraqis. His power comes from America.' Those two men are now his bosses. Al Jaafari, the prime minister, handed al Duleimi his job in May. And al Duleimi recently spent a leisurely afternoon with Chalabi, a deputy prime minister, at the one-time Pentagon favorite's weekend home," Allam wrote.

CPA Monthly Polls
"The Iraq Centre for Research conducts monthly polls and is approved by the now defunct Coalition Provisional Authority," Jonathan Steele reported in the June 29, 2004, Guardian (UK). "Its latest results were handed to CPA officials on Sunday, the eve of their [the CPA's] departure."

Polls

 * Charles Clover, "Iraqis doubt US explanation for continuing attacks," Citizens for Responsible Government, August 3, 2003: "22 per cent of Iraqis believe the attacks are actually provoked by coalition forces' behaviour, while 25 per cent believe them to be the work of 'resistance forces' - a word which in Arabic implies a degree of sympathy for the attackers."
 * Sirajul Islam, "Why to the UN now?" The Daily Star, September 12, 2003: "About half of the Iraqis polled by the Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies attribute the anti-US resistance and violence to 'provocation' by American forces. The US' failure to provide a minimum of public services and security to the people is compounded by a series of political blunders, including the creation of an interim council of ministers under the guidance of American advisors headed by Paul Bremer."
 * "Raise You Hand If You Think U.S. Is An Occupier Not A Liberator," Guardian (UK) (San Francisco Indymedia), October 26, 2003.
 * Abdul Rahman Al Juburi, "Poll: Iraqis favor Saddam execution, prefer fuel and security," Iraq Today, January 26, 2004.
 * "Poll: US are occupiers, not liberators," Reuters (Al Jazeera), May 20, 2004: "... more than half of 1600 Iraqis polled wanted US-led occupation forces to leave Iraq. ... This figure compared with about 20% who said they wanted troops to leave in an October survey."
 * George Wright, "New photos show Abu Ghraib abuse," Guardian (UK), May 20, 2004.
 * Alec Russell, "We are looking into the abyss, admits general," Telegraph (UK), May 21, 2004: "An opinion poll due next week underlined the uncertainties over the mission in Iraq. ... It suggested that nearly nine out of 10 Iraqis see Americans as occupiers, not liberators, and that Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shia rebel leader, is gaining in popularity. ... The findings from the Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies are seen as far from definitive given the unstable environment. But it will be of concern to the coalition that they were taken before the eruption of the prisoner abuse scandal."
 * "Support for radical Iraqi cleric surging, poll shows," Financial Times (Agence France Presse) (Buzztracker), May 23, 2004. Center was one-year old.
 * Jonathan Steele, "80% of Iraqis want US to stop patrolling cities," Guardian (UK), June 29, 2004.
 * "Poll: Most Iraqis oppose presence of US-led forces. 66% of Iraqis surveyed say they will safer if US-led forces leave, Iraq, 40% say situation has worsened," Middle East Online, July 13, 2004.
 * Steve Negus and Dhiya Rasan, "Allawi grouping rivals Shia list for Iraq election," Financial Times, January 7, 2005. Subscription required. "According to Saadoun al-Dulaimi, a political researcher, the first round of a survey by his Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies showed that Mr Allawi's 'Iraqi List' was supported by 22 per cent of the 1,500 respondents in the predominantly Shia south and in Baghdad."

Articles & Commentary

 * Joshua, "Iraqi Public Opinion: Should We Trust the Polls?" The Waterglass, May 20, 2004.

Job Announcements

 * "Media Tracking and Trend Analysis Middle East Experience (Washington, DC)," NetTemps.com, October 17, 2005. re recruitment by the Lincoln Group