Polls & Research

Americans Want Iraq Withdrawal Timetable

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A majority of adults in the United States want their government to establish a date for the end of the coalition effort, according to a poll by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media released by the Associated Press. 59 per cent of respondents favour setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 4,168 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and 30,600 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 2007, 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.

The U.S. and Iraqi governments are hoping to finalize an agreement this year, which would establish a "security relationship" that would provide a legal basis for the presence of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Earlier today, South Korean defence minister Won Tae-jae confirmed that his country’s troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year, declaring, "There is no change to the plan to withdraw the Zaytun unit by the end of this year."

Polling Data

Do you favour, oppose, or neither favour nor oppose setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq?

Favour	59%
Oppose	35%
Neither	4%
Unsure	3%

Source: GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 812 likely American voters, conducted from Sept. 5 to Sept. 10, 2008. Margin of error is 3.4 per cent.