People in the United States and Britain regret the decision of their respective governments to engage militarily in Iraq in 2003, and are now more likely to brand the war as a failure rather than as a success, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
Only about one-in-four respondents in the two countries expect Iraq to become more stable once foreign troops leave.
People in the United States and Britain regret the decision of their respective governments to engage militarily in Iraq in 2003, and are now more likely to brand the war as a failure rather than as a success, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
The online survey of representative national samples of 1,011 American and 2,006 British adults also finds that at least two thirds of respondents in the two countries agree with the argument that taking action against Saddam Hussein despite the absence of weapons of mass destruction was the right thing t do.
The War in Iraq
Only 23 per cent of Americans believe the war in Iraq was success, along with 12 per cent of Britons.
Conversely, two-in-five Americans (45%) and three-in-five Britons (63%) think the conflict was a failure.
Half of Americans (52%) believe their government made a mistake in launching military action against Iraq in 2003.
Two-thirds of Britons (66%) also chide their own government’s decision to support and participate in the war.
Recently, British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stated that the legality of the Iraq War “has never been proven.” More than half of Americans (55%) and almost three-in-four Britons (73%) share the same point of view.
Large majorities of respondents in the U.S. (63%) and Britain (70%) believe that the Iraq War negatively affected the position and image of their respective countries in the world.
Iraq’s Past and Future
A large proportion of Americans (73%) and Britons (69%) side with one of the arguments offered by supporters of the war since 2005: "Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right thing to do, even if his regime did not possess weapons of mass destruction."
Americans (42%) are more likely than Britons (33%) to claim that the people of Iraq are better off now than when Saddam Hussein was in power. More Britons (21%) than Americans (12%) believe that Iraqis are worse off now than before the war began.
Only 23 per cent of respondents in the two countries believe Iraq will become more stable once foreign troops leave.
The Politicians
For the most part, Britons are dissatisfied with the performance of two prime ministers during the war. Two thirds of respondents (67%) disapprove of the way Tony Blair handed the conflict, and three-in-five (59%) feel the same way about Gordon Brown.
In the United States, a majority of respondents (62%) disapprove of the way President George W. Bush handled the war. The views are more nuanced for current head of state Barack Obama (Approve 50%, Disapprove 40%).
Analysis
The survey shows that the two countries remain troubled by some of the decisions that were made before the Iraq War began. Both Britons and Americans regret the decision to launch military action, but people in the U.S. are not as eager as those in Britain to label the war as a failure.
Former prime ministers Blair and Brown get poor marks from Britons, while the core support for Bush comes from Republicans (67% approve of the way he handled the Iraq War during his presidency). Obama’s performance on Iraq gets praise from Democrats and a scathing review from Republicans. Independents are more likely to disapprove of the current White House dweller on this file (48%) than to approve (42%).
