Poll: Iraqis Want U.S. Out of Country
Thu Apr 29, 7:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Despite concerns about their own safety, the majority of
Iraqis say they want the U.S. and British troops now in Iraq to leave
within the next few months, according to a nationwide poll of people
in Iraq.
"There's a sense of disillusionment," Gallup's director of
international polling, Richard Burkholder, said Thursday. "They had
higher expectations of us. If we can sweep their army aside in a
matter of weeks, why can't we stabilize their country? We're a victim
of their high expectations."
Seven in 10 said their lives or the lives of their family would be in
danger if they were seen to be cooperating with the Coalition
Provisional Authority currently governing Iraq. Almost two-thirds, 64
percent, said actions by the coalition have turned out worse than they
expected at the time of the invasion.
While Iraqis are unhappy about the current situation in their country,
almost two-thirds in the poll said they expect their country will be
better off five years from now than it was before the U.S. and British
invasion.
But half have doubts the United States is serious about establishing a
democratic system in Iraq and even more, 57 percent, doubt the U.S.
will allow Iraqis to design their own political future.
The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll was taken between March 22 and April 9,
before the latest rounds of fighting between coalition forces and
insurgents. A relatively small number of the 3,444 face-to-face
interviews were conducted more recently.
Almost six in 10, 57 percent, said they would like to see coalition
troops leave "immediately, within the next few months," while 36
percent said they would like to see those troops stay longer.
Despite the reservations, Iraqis have mixed feelings about the effects
of the U.S. led invasion.
_Six in 10 say ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the hardships they
have faced since then.
_Half said they are better off since Saddam was ousted, while 25
percent said they are doing about the same.
Burkholder said the trend in Baghdad, where Gallup polled last August
and September, reflects a drop in attitudes about U.S. troops.
Last August, almost six in 10 Iraqis said they had a positive view of
how U.S. troops are behaving. Now, residents of Baghdad view U.S.
soldiers negatively, by almost 8-1.
Only a quarter of Iraqis said attacks on U.S. troops are completely
unjustified. Less than a third of Iraqis said the attacks are
completely or somewhat justified from a moral standpoint. Another one
in five said those attacks are sometimes justified.
Seven in 10 in the poll said they view the U.S. presence as an
occupation and not a liberation.
Both Sunnis and Shiites shared the generally negative views of the
U.S. mission in Iraq and U.S. troops.
But in the Sunni region in central Iraq, where troops have faced some
of the strongest resistance , six in 10 said the attacks on U.S.
troops can be justified morally.
The poll conducted by the Pan Arab Research Center of Dubai had a
margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points (AP).
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040429/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_poll_2
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