Polls & Research

More Americans See Iraq War as “Another Vietnam”

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - More adults in the United States express concern about the coalition effort, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 48 per cent of respondents believe the U.S. will accomplish its goals in Iraq, while 39 per cent of respondents think Iraq will turn out to be another Vietnam.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched in March 2003. At least 1,907 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 14,300 troops have been injured.

An American military intervention in Vietnam left more than 1.5 million dead from 1964 to 1975, including 58,226 U.S. soldiers. The poll shows a four-point increase in the number of respondents who draw a parallel between the Vietnam and Iraq wars since June.

In April 2004, Democratic Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy stated that the war in Iraq had become the current administration's "Vietnam." U.S. president George W. Bush rejected the suggestion, saying that it "sends the wrong message to our troops and sends the wrong message to the enemy." 57 per cent of respondents believe the U.S. should set a timetable for when troops will be withdrawn from Iraq, up eight points since July.

Last month in an appearance on ABC, a prospective Republican presidential hopeful discussed his views on the coalition effort. Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel declared, "We are locked into a bogged-down problem not dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam. The longer we stay, the more problems we are going to have."

Polling Data

Some people are comparing Iraq to the war in Vietnam thirty years ago. Do you think Iraq will turn out to be another Vietnam, or do you think the U.S. will accomplish its goals in Iraq?

Do you think the U.S. should or should not set a timetable for when troops will be withdrawn from Iraq?