(11/16/11) -

Americans, Britons Think Removing Saddam Was Right Course of Action

But less than three-in-ten are willing to admit that the war in Iraq was worth the human and financial toll.

People in the United States and Britain outline conflicting views about the War in Iraq, but express satisfaction with the impending end of the conflict, a new two-country Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of representative national samples, at least three-in-four respondents in the United States (77%) and Britain (75%) believe that removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right thing to do, even if his regime did not possess weapons of mass destruction. However, about two thirds of respondents (65% in the U.S. and 69% in Britain) think the war in Iraq was not worth the human and financial toll.

The Conflict

While there is a 30-point gap in the way Britons assess their government’s original decision to launch military action in Iraq in 2003 (Right 22%, Wrong 52%), the views of Americans are not as lopsided, with 45 per cent calling the decision a mistake, and 35 per cent saying it was the correct course of action.

Seven-in-ten Britons (70%) and three-in-four Americans (76%) say they are satisfied with U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw nearly all troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

The View of History

While 16 per cent of respondents in both countries believe the war in Iraq will be seen as a defeat for the U.S. and its allies two decades from now, Americans are more likely to expect history to see the conflict as a victory (22%) than Britons (13%). In fact, respondents in the U.S. tend to regard the Iraq War in a similar light as the Korean War (12% think it was a defeat), while keeping a negative view of the Vietnam War (42% consider it a defeat).

Analysis

Nine years after the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1441—which compelled Saddam Hussein to disarm or face “serious consequences”—people in the two countries that provided the largest contingents during the 2003 invasion hold differing views on specific aspects of the war in Iraq. While the idea of toppling the Iraqi regime even without the presence of weapons of mass destruction is endorsed by most respondents, a large proportion also feels that the conflict was not worth the human and financial toll.

Few Americans are looking at the War in Iraq as a defeat, and many do not expect history to ultimately see it as a failed campaign.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From October 25 to November 2, 2011, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,001 randomly selected American adults who are Springboard America panelists, and 1,755 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% in the United States and 2.3% in Britain. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the two countries. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.