Today Marks Second Anniversary Of Iraq War
BAKHTIAR: Today is the second anniversary of the second Iraq war. There are anti-U.S. protests around the globe going on. The largest demonstration was in London -- at least 45,000 people marched past the U.S. embassy there. Organizers say the turnout was closer to 100,000. Then the next largest gathering of protesters was in Turkey, which is one of Iraq's neighbors, and heavily Muslim. There were demonstrations in several Turkish cities, including Istanbul where at least 10,000 people were in the streets. And there was also a large demonstration in Rome. There it is. These protesters aren't just against the war, they want Italian troops in Iraq -- in the Iraq coalition pulled out immediately. Well, President Bush marked the second anniversary of the war during his weekly radio address. He said the Iraqi people are taking charge of their own destiny. Our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has spent much of the last two years in Iraq, but is here with us today. Nic, thank you for joining us.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: My pleasure.</s>BAKHTIAR: After two years, tell us where Iraq is headed to now.</s>ROBERTSON: It seems that the elections really were a point that Iraqi people can look at and say the insurgents threatened to precipitate a huge amount of violence and it didn't happen. So I think that encouraged people to know that the insurgency -- they didn't know how big and how bad it would get -- and I think they realized it wouldn't get any worse, it was on a plateau. They also looked at the government who counted the votes in a very transparent way. And it gave them confidence in the new political process. People are afraid of being kidnapped, they're afraid caught up in roadside bombs, or violence on the streets. But at the same time they're getting used to the fact there's this background violence, getting on with their lives. And they're beginning to see some of the big infrastructures projects that they expected to happen -- electricity, water -- to be put in place. They're beginning to see those begin to happen. So I think you're beginning to see people accept the current situation and get on with their lives and have some faith that the political process is going to work.</s>BAKHTIAR: Let's talk about how the Iraqis are now perceiving the Americans. Has that changed?</s>ROBERTSON: There's been a huge amount of animosity towards the U.S. troops, because they're widely seen by people if their violence is going to be targeted at the troops, and if Iraqi people are nearby, they're going to get caught up in it. There's anger, because they did have great expectations. The United States would arrive, the troops would arrive, they would have security, that didn't happen. Their electricity and water problems would be resolved, that didn't happen. But at the same time a lot of Iraqi people know, if you ask them, do you want the American troops to go? They'll say yes. Do you want them here until you have your own security? Yes. So the answer is quite often very conflicted. And you do find people who are very grateful for what's happened. They're grateful for the elections, they're grateful that the electricity -- new power stations are being built and such like the United States is putting in the huge amount of money. But there is still this animosity, this feeling, particularly if you go into some of the tribal Sunni areas, that the United States is an occupying force and that they should carry on the fight. So different views in different places, and even conflicting views from the same people.</s>BAKHTIAR: Now you brought up the Sunnis, let's talk about them. Not many had a chance to vote, you know, in January. How is it working? How is the system working to bring -- make them more involved in this political process?</s>ROBERTSON: Well, it seems that all the politicians, the Kurds from the north and Shias from the center and south, who did very well in the elections were well-represented in the turnout, they are saying all the right things. The they want to include the Sunnis in the process, that they will reach out to them. And even some of the Sunni politicians who didn't want to take part in the elections, changed their minds at the last minute, realized that mistakes were made on their part, and have said that they want to get involved in the process. There's a lot of good talk at the moment of including the Sunnis. But really the key decisions have to be made very soon to get them into the political process, and get in Sunnis who are influential enough in their own communities to bring on board the Sunni population. Because there are very likely going to be elections later in the year. And the hope is that if you include Sunnis in the political process now, in the new government, give them good positions, that will encourage Sunnis to come out and vote later in the year. And therefore in the next elections later this year, you'll have a much more inclusive government, much better -- more representative of the people and help marginalize the insurgents, many of whom are Sunnis.</s>BAKHTIAR: Nic, do Iraqis believe that they are better off today than they were Saddam Hussein's regime? I know it varies from region to region.</s>ROBERTSON: And that's a very difficult question to answer. If you ask the Kurds in the north, they would say yes, if you ask many Shias, they would say absolutely yes. They are the majority of the population in Iraq. They are now the majority in the government, they're going to have a political voice, they never had it before. As for the people in the center of Iraq and in some of the big cities as well where the violence continues, where the police aren't strong enough, the army isn't strong enough to provide security in the neighborhoods, where if you're a small businessman, your children could get kidnapped, because somebody is going to want to extort a ransom from you. So you ask people like that, and they would say no, my life has more uncertainty about it. I don't know if I'm going to be safe walking home. I don't know if I'm going to be kidnapped or get caught up in a roadside bomb. So it's a very difficult question to answer. It's patchy. And I think in part that's part of the future of Iraq, a very stable Kurdish area in north, and increasingly stable south and center and smaller pockets where the insurgents are able to continue with their violence.</s>BAKHTIAR: Nic Robertson, our senior international correspondent, always good to have you in the house and talking to us, next to us. Thank you so much.</s>ROBERTSON: Thank you.</s>BAKHTIAR: All right. Coming up, opinions about the war from those still in the bull's-eye. Aneesh Raman asks U.S. troops about what they're seeing and when they think they'll be home.