Amir Taheri sees an influx of emigres and other positive indicators. The NYT sees an exodus of the middle class. Who’s right? None of the rejoinders to the NYT account manage to debunk this:
In the last 10 months, the state has issued new passports to 1.85 million Iraqis, 7 percent of the population and a quarter of the country’s estimated middle class.
Whether they have actually left or not is, I suppose, the salient question. But they are clearly making preparations. Middle classes don’t like living in anarchy. And anarchy is what Donald Rumsfeld has ensured for them.
The Dish 