(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in the United States regret their federal government’s decision to launch the coalition effort, according to a poll by YouGov/Polimetrix released by The Economist. 56 per cent of respondents think it was a mistake for the U.S. to have invaded Iraq.

In addition, 51 per cent of respondents believe U.S. troops should leave Iraq immediately or by the end of next year, while 48 per cent would allow U.S. soldiers to stay longer or as long as it takes to stabilize the country.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,882 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and 28,500 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.

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 77,700 Iraqi civilians have been killed during the military intervention.

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.

In his Dec. 1 radio address, Bush repeated his call for the U.S. Congress to authorize a request to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying, "Congress’s first priority should be to provide the funds and flexibility to keep our troops safe and help them protect our nation. (…) The funds include money to carry out combat operations against the enemy in Afghanistan and Iraq. They include money to train the Afghan and Iraqi security forces to take on more responsibility for the defence of their countries. And they include money for intelligence operations to protect our troops on the battlefield."

Polling Data

Was it a mistake for the U.S. to have invaded Iraq?

How long should the U.S. stay in Iraq?

Source: YouGov/Polimetrix / The Economist
Methodology: Online interviews with 996 American adults, conducted on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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