December 15, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe their government should implement an exit strategy in Iraq, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 53 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should withdraw its military forces from Iraq in order to avoid further U.S. military casualties, even if that means civil order is not restored there.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe their government should implement an exit strategy in Iraq, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 53 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should withdraw its military forces from Iraq in order to avoid further U.S. military casualties, even if that means civil order is not restored there.

In addition, 61 per cent of respondents believe the war with Iraq was not worth fighting, and 55 per cent think the U.S. is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,889 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and 28,600 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 September, commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq David Petraeus and U.S. ambassador in Iraq Ryan Crocker provided a comprehensive assessment of the situation in Iraq to the U.S. Congress. In addition, U.S. president George W. Bush said U.S. forces in Iraq would be reduced by 5,700 troops in December, and announced the possibility of a further decrease in July 2008.

On Dec. 12, Texas congressman Ron Paul, who is seeking the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2008, discussed his views on the war in Iraq, saying, "A commander in chief could end the war. We could bring our troops home. That would be a major event. It would be very valuable. We become diplomatically credible once again around the world. Right now, today, we’re not. Even our allies resent what we do. We would have no more pre-emptive war, we would threaten nobody. We would not threaten Iran. Now it is proven once again, Iraq didn’t have the nuclear weapon, had nothing to do with 9/11."

Polling Data

Do you think the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until civil order is restored there, even if that means continued U.S. military casualties, or do you think the United States should withdraw its military forces from Iraq in order to avoid further U.S. military casualties, even if that means civil order is not restored there?

	Dec. 2007	Sept. 2007	Jul. 2007
Keep forces	43%	43%	39%
Withdraw forces	53%	54%	59%
No opinion	4%	3%	3%

All in all, considering the costs to the United States versus the benefits to the United States, do you think the war with Iraq was worth fighting, or not?

	Dec. 2007	Nov. 2007	Sept. 2007
Worth fighting	37%	35%	38%
Not worth fighting	61%	63%	59%
No opinion	2%	2%	3%

Do you think the United States is or is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq?

	Dec. 2007	Nov. 2007	Sept. 2007
Is making significant progress	41%	39%	36%
Is not making significant progress	55%	59%	60%
No opinion	4%	2%	4%

Source: TNS / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,136 American adults, conducted from Dec. 6 to Dec. 9, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.