Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Propping up Democracy in Iraq

Adam: On a crowded street in Ramadi, in central Anbar Province, shop owners sit in front of their stalls, children run up and down the street and a butcher skins and dresses a sheep?this scene would have been unthinkable less than a year ago.

But when Sergeant Clyde Rhoads of the 307th Psychological Operations Company exits his humvee he doesn?t have to walk far to get an earful.

Confab: 25
Man on the street speaking Arabic fading up?
Translator: He says right now, many people, they have a hard situation, and?you are responsible for us, not the Iraqi government, because our government is very weak and we don?t like them.
Rhoads: We?re trying to help you help rebuild a strong Iraqi government, its just a work in progress and as the situation improves so will the government situation.

Adam: Part of the mission of U.S. Army PsyOp is to encourage Iraqis to turn to their government for solutions to problems?

Specialist Tyson Demerest says in many situations, faith in ones elected leaders is as basic as whether they have reliable electricity.

Demerest2 :24
I can tell you right now that a lot of them will openly admit that the way they view their government and especially their mayor is whether or not they?re getting power at the moment, its things like that. They don?t care that their leadership might be corrupt or even criminal, they mostly believe ?hey, they?re supplying me for my essential services and my life is better because of it?.

Adam: Issues such as power outages, unemployment, and rising gas and fuel oil prices only compound an already difficult situation.

?Peter? is an interpreter for the U.S. Army, Peter is a pseudonym?he says many Iraqi?s don?t look at the big picture, they only see small things taken away from them?things such as recent food ration cutbacks.

Peter2 :24
The Iraqi government they say ?ok we don?t have enough money we gonna terminate a couple items??Iraqi people pissed off because they say, ?How we don?t have money when the oil prices just lift up, and we?ve got a lot of money??Iraqi government does not give like? good excuses.

Adam: Major Jerry Wilson is the executive officer with 10th Psychological Operations Battalion, based in St. Louis, now deployed in Baghdad.

Wilson1 :30
The Arab perspective is ?what have you done for me?? What have you done for my city?, what have you done for my little town? What have you done for my little providence? What have you done for me? And if they don?t get resolve right away, you start running into a lot of ?well they?re just not doing anything,? whether they are or not?I mean they?re working like a parliament, and they?re looking at the oil revenue bill, they?re looking like a government would look at things, and everyone is still living in a time period here where Saddam ran it all.

Adam: By American standards, Iraq?s last general election in 2005 was considerably flawed?political parties appropriated religious symbols and many electoral lists were not made public until just before voting?many Iraqis say the government won't last if the Americans leave.

The next elections in Iraq are not scheduled to take place until late in 2009, unless the current government is removed by parliamentary means.

For KWMU, I?m Adam Allington, in Anbar Province, Iraq.