(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are divided on whether their executive or legislative branch would do a better job dealing with the coalition effort, according to a poll by Harris Interactive. 27 per cent of respondents trust Congress more on policy regarding Iraq, while 23 per cent express confidence in U.S. president George W. Bush.

In addition, 38 per cent of respondents trust neither branch—or claim it makes no difference—while 12 per cent are undecided. 

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,742 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 27,600 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.

The U.S. Congress has asked commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq David Petraeus and U.S. ambassador in Iraq Ryan Crocker to provide a comprehensive assessment of the situation in Iraq on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11.

Yesterday, Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq and discussed the current state of affairs, saying, “For all the differences over the war, we can agree on what’s working. And we can agree that continuing this progress is vital in meeting the strategic interests of our nation. It’s vital that we work to bring America together behind a common vision for a more stable and more peaceful Middle East.”

Polling Data

If Congress and the White House disagree on U.S. policy regarding Iraq, who would you trust more?

Overall, do you feel that U.S. president George W. Bush was too eager to go to war?

Source: Harris Interactive
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,594 American adults, conducted from Aug. 7 to Aug. 13, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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