December 17, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in the United States are satisfied with the way the coalition effort is going, according to a poll by Ipsos-Public Affairs released by the Associated Press. 52 per cent of respondents think the United States in making progress in Iraq, up 13 points since September 2006.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in the United States are satisfied with the way the coalition effort is going, according to a poll by Ipsos-Public Affairs released by the Associated Press. 52 per cent of respondents think the United States in making progress in Iraq, up 13 points since September 2006.

When asked how history will judge the war in Iraq, 55 per cent of respondents believe the military operation will be seen as a failure, while 42 per cent say it will be deemed a success. In addition, 58 per cent of respondents think the U.S. made a mistake in going to war with Iraq.

The coalition effort against Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,892 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and 28,600 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.

In September, commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq David Petraeus and U.S. ambassador in Iraq Ryan Crocker provided a comprehensive assessment of the situation in Iraq to the U.S. Congress. In addition, U.S. president George W. Bush said U.S. forces in Iraq would be reduced by 5,700 troops in December, and announced the possibility of a further decrease in July 2008.

On Dec. 12, British prime minister Gordon Brown expressed satisfaction with the current state of affairs in Iraq, saying, "Iraq is now a democracy. Millions of people have voted. When I went to Basra, only two days ago, I found that there had been a 90 per cent fall in violence over the last few months. We are now able to hand over Basra to provincial Iraqi control. So instead of the British forces having to engage in a combat role, we will, over time, be engaged in training role, supporting the Iraqi forces. Over these last few months, 50,000 people have been trained up as police and security forces. This is Iraqis taking control of their own security."

Polling Data

Do you think the United States in making progress or losing ground in Iraq?

	Dec. 2007	Sept. 2006
Making progress	52%	39%
Losing ground	41%	57%
Neither	4%	3%
Refused	3%	1%

Just your best guess, how do you think history will judge the war in Iraq?

	Dec. 2007	Sept. 2007
Complete success / More of a success	42%	34%
More of a failure / Complete failure	55%	59%
Refused / Not sure	3%	7%

All in all, thinking about how things have gone in Iraq since the United States went to war there in March, 2003, do you think the United States...

	Dec. 2007	Sept. 2007
Made the right decision in going to war with Iraq	38%	37%
Made a mistake in going to war with Iraq	58%	57%
Not sure	4%	6%

Source: Ipsos-Public Affairs / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,009 American adults, conducted from Dec. 3 to Dec. 5, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.