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Americans, Britons Question Iraq War Deadline
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States and Britain are skeptical about the scheduled timetable for the end of the Iraq War, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 31 per cent of respondents in the U.S.—and 21 per cent of respondents in Britain—are very or moderately confident that all U.S. forces will withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003, when George W. Bush and Tony Blair headed the American and British governments respectively. At least 4,696 coalition soldiers—including 4,379 Americans and 179 Britons—have died during the military operation, and more than 31,600 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 November 2008, Iraq’s National Assembly ratified the Status of Forces Agreement with the United States. The document established that coalition combat forces would be completely out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.
In February 2009, U.S. president Barack Obama announced his intention to end the combat mission in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010.
On Jan. 27, during his State of the Union address, Obama discussed the war in Iraq, saying, "As we take the fight to al-Qaeda, we are responsibly leaving Iraq to its people. But make no mistake: this war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home. (...) We will support the Iraqi government as they hold elections, and continue to partner with the Iraqi people to promote regional peace and prosperity."
Polling Data
A security agreement signed between the United States and Iraq calls for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. Thinking about this, how confident are you that this timetable will be met?
|
BRI |
USA |
|
|
Very confident |
3% |
6% |
|
Moderately confident |
18% |
25% |
|
Not too confident |
45% |
39% |
|
Not confident at all |
26% |
20% |
|
Not sure |
8% |
9% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,010 British adults and 1,001 American adults, conducted on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, 2010. Margins of error range from 2.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent.
