Asked his thoughts about replacing Iraq's government by force, Sheik Talel al-Khalidi, a member of parliament and tribal leader from Mosul, launches into one of those all-too-common sermons about President Saddam Hussein winning 100 percent of the vote in a referendum last October.

He demands to know how the Bush administration can possibly ignore such overwhelming support, prompting a visitor to note that Americans tend to respect election results when voters actually have a choice.

"But there was a choice!" the sheik protests. "People could vote yes or no."

Any interview in Iraq runs the risk of capsizing beneath the flood of Orwellian language that courses through all public discussions, rendering true thoughts and sentiments extremely elusive. Occasionally someone angry or reckless enough voices harsh criticism of the Iraqi government, but such encounters are both furtive and extremely rare.

Since most interviews between Iraqis and the Western press are organized and monitored by minders from the Ministry of Information, many Iraqis take the prudent step of garnishing their remarks with some praise for their president. This is an old-school totalitarian regime, after all, where criticizing the president is illegal, and parents have been known to disappear after their children parroted anti-Hussein remarks heard at home.

Foreigners with long experience here believe this is a matter of conditioning, of fear and self-censorship that have become innate. Iraqis are raised from childhood to sing -- often literally -- the president's praises.

They are also taught to mistrust foreigners. So when they find themselves talking to a foreigner, they respond as if by rote, often with safe, stock phrases.

» Fear Has Its Own Language in Iraq