Public Steady on Iraq
Evenly divided on whether to withdraw or keep troops in Iraq
Friday, November 7, 2003
By David W. Moore
Gallup News Service
PRINCETON, NJ -- GNS
Despite recent attacks on American troops in Iraq, including last Sunday's downing of a U.S. helicopter that killed 15 American soldiers, support for the deployment of American troops actually increased over the last two weeks. Still, the public is evenly divided over keeping troops in Iraq or withdrawing at least some of them. The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey also shows that the public's assessment of how well the war is going remains more pessimistic than optimistic. A majority of Americans now disapprove of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, though a majority still say the war was not a mistake.
The poll, conducted Nov. 3-5, finds 49% of Americans saying the United States should keep troops in Iraq -- 32% choosing to keep the same number as now, and another 17% willing to send more. Another 48% of Americans want to withdraw troops from Iraq, 29% saying the government should begin withdrawing some troops, while 19% opt for complete withdrawal.
Which comes closest to your view about what the U.S. should now do about the number of U.S. troops in Iraq – the U.S. should send more troops to Iraq, the U.S. should keep the number of troops as it is now, the U.S. should begin to withdraw some troops from Iraq, or the U.S. should withdraw all of its troops from Iraq?
Image Credit: Gallup.com
In an Oct. 24-26 poll, Americans preferred withdrawal of troops by a 57% to 41% margin. It is possible that the higher-casualty attacks on American troops actually rallied the public on this issue.
Consistent with the increasing number of attacks on U.S. soldiers that have resulted in more casualties, the poll shows a slight drop in the public's assessment of the situation in Iraq since the major fighting ended. By a margin of 61% to 38%, Americans believe the war is going badly rather than well, a slight decline from last month's figures of 58% badly to 42% well.
How Are Things Going for the U.S. in Iraq, Now That the Major Fighting Has Ended?
Image Credit: Gallup.com
Since the end of July, the public's view of the situation in Iraq has steadily eroded, from a net 13-point positive assessment (56% well to 43% badly) to a net 23-point negative assessment today (61% badly to 38% well).
Despite these negative assessments, a majority of Americans continue to believe the situation in Iraq was "worth going to war over" -- currently by a margin of 54% to 44%, about the same as last month.
All in All, Do You Think the Situation in Iraq Is/Was Worth Going to War Over, or Not?
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Last spring, after the war had been launched, from two-thirds to three-quarters of the public felt the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over. But by late summer, this positive feeling had dissipated among substantial numbers of Americans -- down to about a 2-to-1 positive ratio. The last three months show an average margin of about 10 percentage points.
Similarly, a separate question finds 60% of Americans saying the United States did not make a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, while just 39% say it was a mistake. These percentages are similar to those measured last month.
* Effect on Bush
* Survey Methods
(More: Gallup.com)
2003 © The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ.
Dan
Public Steady on Iraq . . .