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Most Americans Regard Iraq as Failed Mission
- More adults in the United States hold negative views on the coalition effort, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 55 per cent of respondents think the U.S. mission in Iraq will be seen as a failure in the long run, up eight points since mid-September.
The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched in March 2003. At least 2,754 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 20,800 troops have been wounded in action.
In December 2005, Iraqi voters renewed their National Assembly. In May, Shiite United Iraqi Alliance member Nouri al-Maliki officially took over as prime minister.
On Oct. 12, in an interview with Britain's Daily Mail, British general Richard Dannatt criticized the rationale for the coalition effort, saying, "I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq, but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them. (...) Whatever consent we may have had in the first place, may have turned to tolerance and has largely turned to intolerance."
Polling Data
In the long run, will the U.S. mission in Iraq be seen as a success or a failure?
Oct. 8 | Sept. 15 | Jun. 10 | |
Success | 29% | 33% | 35% |
Failure | 55% | 47% | 47% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.