Poll: Most troops favor Iraq pullout

72% of U.S. forces surveyed back withdrawal within one year

By Drew Brown

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Nearly three out of four U.S. troops serving in Iraq think they should withdraw within a year, and more than one in four say the United States should leave immediately, according to a poll published Tuesday.

The poll, conducted by Zogby International and the Center for Peace and Global Studies at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., was a rare effort to determine the views of U.S. troops serving in a ground war.

Twenty-nine percent of the troops surveyed said U.S. forces should leave Iraq immediately, another 22 percent said they should leave within the next six months and 21 percent said within six to 12 months.

Twenty-three percent agreed with President Bush’s call for troops to stay “as long as they are needed,” and 5 percent were unsure.

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