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More in U.S. Question Bush on Iraq, Ethical Standards
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States remain disappointed with their president's policies on Iraq, according to a poll by Ipsos-Public Affairs released by the Associated Press. 62 per cent of respondents disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq.
The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched in March 2003. At least 2,069 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 15,500 troops have been injured.
Last month, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald announced that vice-president Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby had been indicted on five counts. The indictment is related to conversations regarding the identity of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative Valerie Plame, between Libby and two reporters.
Plame is married to former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who in July 2003 wrote an op-ed in the New York Times that severely criticized the Bush administration for its claim that Hussein's regime had sought to purchase uranium from Niger. 57 per cent of respondents think the Bush administration does not have high ethical standards.
On Nov. 11, U.S. president George W. Bush expressed dismay at recent criticism of the rationale for military action in Iraq, saying, "The stakes in the global war on terror are too high, and the national interest is too important, for politicians to throw out false charges. These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will."
The final report of the Iraq Survey Group—presented to the U.S. Congress on Sept. 30, 2004—concluded that Hussein's regime did not possess chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and had not implemented a significant program for their development.
Polling Data
When it comes to handling the situation in Iraq, do you approve, disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way George W. Bush is handling that issue?
Nov. 2005 | Oct. 2005 | Jun. 2005 | Feb. 2005 | |
Approve | 37% | 37% | 41% | 42% |
Disapprove | 62% | 61% | 56% | 57% |
Mixed Feelings | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
Do you think the Bush administration has high ethical standards or not?
Yes, has high ethical standards | 41% |
No, does not have high ethical standards | 57% |
Refused / Not sure | 2% |
Source: Ipsos-Public Affairs / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9, 2005. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.