May 30, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few adults in the United States believe the rationale for the coalition effort was correct, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 61 per cent of respondents think the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, up 10 points since April.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few adults in the United States believe the rationale for the coalition effort was correct, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 61 per cent of respondents think the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, up 10 points since April.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,452 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 25,500 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.

On May 24, the 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. 69 per cent of respondents think Congress should allow funding for the Iraq war, but only on the condition that the U.S. sets benchmarks for progress and the Iraqi government is meeting those goals.

On May 26, U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "In the struggle against terror, no country has had more battlefield deaths, or lost more civilians, than Iraq itself. They and their elected leaders are striving to preserve democracy against direct attack by merciless enemies. And they can know that our country, as in other times and other places, stands firmly for the cause of democracy." 63 per cent of respondents think the United States should set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq sometime in 2008.

Polling Data

Looking back, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or should the U.S. have stayed out?

	May 2007	Apr. 2007	Mar. 2007
Right thing	35%	44%	39%
Stayed out	61%	51%	56%
Don't know	4%	5%	5%

Which of these comes closest to your opinion?

Congress should allow funding, but only on the condition that the U.S. sets benchmarks for progress and the Iraqi government is meeting those goals	69%
Congress should allow all funding for the war without any benchmark conditions	15%
Congress should block all funding for the war in Iraq no matter what	13%
Not sure	3%

Do you think the United States should or should not set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq sometime in 2008?

	May 23	Apr. 24	Apr. 12
Should	63%	64%	57%
Should not	34%	32%	38%
Unsure	3%	4%	5%

Source: CBS News / New York Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,125 American adults, conducted from May 18 to May 23, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.