(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many adults in the United States believe their government was wrong to launch the coalition effort, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 62 per cent of respondents think the U.S. made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, up six points since June.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many adults in the United States believe their government was wrong to launch the coalition effort, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 62 per cent of respondents think the U.S. made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, up six points since June.
The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,608 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 26,500 troops have been wounded in action.
In December 2005, Iraqi voters renewed their National Assembly. In May 2006, Shiite United Iraqi Alliance member Nouri al-Maliki officially took over as prime minister.
In May, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 280-142 on the Iraq supplemental spending bill, which approves $100 billion U.S. for the military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Senate ratified the measure in an 80-14 vote.
Yesterday, U.S. president George W. Bush reviewed the situation in Iraq, saying, “I’ve got to decide whether or not it’s OK for that violence to continue or whether or not it makes sense for us to try to send more troops in to quell the violence, to give the reconciliation process further time to advance. My concern is that, as a result of violence and killing, there would be chaos.” 71 per cent of respondents favour removing all U.S. troops before April 2008, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts.
Bush also discussed the Iraqi government’s progress, declaring, “Of the 18 benchmarks Congress asked us to measure, we can report that satisfactory progress is being made in eight areas. (…) The bottom line is that this is a preliminary report and it comes less than a month after the final reinforcements arrived in Iraq. This September, as Congress has required, (commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq David) Petraeus and (U.S. ambassador in Iraq Ryan) Crocker will return to Washington to provide a more comprehensive assessment.” 55 per cent of respondents think Congress should not develop a new policy on Iraq until September, when Petraeus reports on the progress of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq.
Polling Data
In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?
Jul. 2007 | Jun. 2007 | May 2007 | |
Yes, a mistake | 62% | 56% | 58% |
No, not a mistake | 36% | 40% | 40% |
No opinion | 2% | 4% | 2% |
(Half sample) – Do you favour or oppose removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by Apr. 1 of next year, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts?
Favour | 71% |
Oppose | 26% |
No opinion | 4% |
(Half sample) – Which comes closer to your view about U.S. policy toward the situation in Iraq?
Congress should act now to develop a new policy on Iraq | 40% |
Congress should not develop a new policy on Iraq | 55% |
No opinion | 5% |
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,014 American adults, conducted from Jul. 6 to Jul. 8, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
