November 06, 2005

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States believe George W. Bush is not taking the right course of action in dealing with the coalition effort, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 64 per cent of respondents disapprove of the way the U.S. president is handling the situation in Iraq, up seven points since August.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States believe George W. Bush is not taking the right course of action in dealing with the coalition effort, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 64 per cent of respondents disapprove of the way the U.S. president is handling the situation in Iraq, up seven points since August.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched in March 2003. At least 2,043 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 15,300 troops have been injured. 73 per cent of respondents believe the number of U.S. casualties in the war has been unacceptable, up five points in three months.

On Nov. 1, defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq could rise before next month's legislative election, saying, "We have had a pattern of increasing the number of coalition forces during periods when there was an expectation that the insurgents and terrorists would like to try to disrupt the political process." 60 per cent of respondents think the war with Iraq was not worth fighting, up seven points since August.

Iraqis participated in a constitutional referendum on Oct. 15. Official results indicate that 78 per cent of all voters—and more than a third in 16 of the 18 country's provinces—approved the proposed body of law. A new National Assembly election has been scheduled for Dec. 15.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?

	Nov. 2005	Sept. 2005	Aug. 2005
Approve	36%	38%	42%
Disapprove	64%	62%	57%
No opinion	--	--	1%

Again thinking about the goals versus the costs of the war, so far in your opinion has there been an acceptable or unacceptable number of U.S. military casualties in Iraq?

	Nov. 2005	Aug. 2005
Acceptable	25%	30%
Unacceptable	73%	68%
No opinion	2%	3%

All in all, considering the costs to the United States versus the benefits to the United States, do you think the war with Iraq was worth fighting, or not?

	Nov. 2005	Aug. 2005
Worth fighting	39%	46%
Not worth fighting	60%	53%
No opinion	1%	1%

Source: TNS / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 641 American adults, conducted from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2005. Margin of error is 4 per cent.

Other poll highlights: 52 per cent say the Iraq war has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States. 52 per cent think the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq, while 44 per cent say the United States should withdraw its military forces from Iraq. 55 per cent say the U.S. is not making significant progress in establishing a democratic government in Iraq. 55 per cent think the Bush administration intentionally misled the American public in making its case for war.

Complete Poll (PDF)

Archive Search

Over 18,700 Polls
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Polls & Research archive.

Advanced Search

Newsletter

Join our Mailing List