Both my parents are Iraqi Arabs from Baghdad. They escaped Iraq in the early 90s during Saddam's infamous Faith Campaign, where both my relatively leftist dad and my shia mother both fell under some prosecution. They left to Syria and then got resettled in the US thanks to a UN program. I speak fluent Arabic and meet up every year with my extended family in Jordan or Turkey, as both countries are relatively safe for Iraqis.
AMA about Iraqi politics, Iraqi society and the general cultural and political state of the Arab World. I will answer a few questions directly, but I'll keep the rest for late night today as I will go on a long ass drive in an hour.
Was there a popular appreciation in Iraq for America and Americans before the 2003 invasion?
Not really, America was the main reason behind Iraq's misery starting from the incredibly brutal 1st Gulf War, and even more brutal sanctions that starved millions. So no, people have hated America as an entity immensely since 1990, but I can't really comment on how they viewed Americans as individuals, but probably it wasn't that bad.