(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The number of people in Iraq who would like to see coalition troops leave the country immediately has decreased comparing to last year, according to a poll by D3 Systems and KA Research Ltd. released by ABC, ARD, BBC, and NHK. 38 per cent of respondents want coalition forces to leave Iraq now, down nine points since last August.

In addition, 35 per cent of respondents want foreign troops to stay until security is restored, and 14 per cent believe they should remain in Iraq until the local government is stronger.

The United States-led coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 4,297 coalition soldiers have died during the military operation.

There has been no official inquiry into the actual number of Iraqi casualties. A volunteer group of British and United States academics and researchers known as Iraq Body Count (IBC) estimates that more than 82,240 Iraqi civilians have been killed during the war.

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.

Earlier this month, U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney met with Iraqi officials in Iraqi Kurdistan in order to secure a strong bilateral relationship after a new president is elected in the U.S. in November. Following a meeting with Massoud Barzani, head of the Irbil regional administration in the semi-autonomous Kurdish area, Cheney declared: "We are certainly counting on president Barzani’s leadership to help us conclude a new strategic relationship between the United States and Iraq, as well as to pass crucial pieces of national legislation in the months ahead."

Barzani also offered a comment, saying that the Kurds are committed to being "part of the solution, and not part of the problem," and adding, "I would like to reiterate our commitment that we will continue to play a positive role in order to build a new Iraq—an Iraq with a foundation of a great federal, democratic, pluralistic, free Iraq."

Polling Data

How long do you think U.S. and other coalition forces should remain in Iraq? Should they leave now, remain until security is restored, remain until the Iraqi government is stronger, remain until Iraqi security forces can operate independently, remain longer but leave eventually, or never leave?

Source: D3 Systems / KA Research Ltd. / ABC / ARD / BBC / NHK
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews to 2,228 Iraqi adults, conducted from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20, 2004. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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