According to an ABC News poll from February 9-28, 2004, when asked “what type of government they wanted, 86 percent of Iraqis polled approved of democracy, but 81 percent also endorsed having a single strong leader, and 53 percent supported ‘a government made up mainly of religious leaders.’ When asked to choose between democracy, a strong leader ‘for life,’ and an Islamic state, half chose democracy and half one of the two authoritarian options.”
– Larry Diamond, Squandered Victory, Page 314