Past surveys have hinted at this result, but a new poll in Iraq makes it more stark than ever: the Iraqi people want the U.S. to exit their country. And most Iraqis now approve of attacks on U.S. forces, even though 94% express disapproval of al-Qaeda.
At one time, this was primarily a call by the Sunni minority, but now the Shiites have also come around to this view. The survey by much-respected World Public Opinion (WPO), taken in September, found that 74% of Shiites and 91% of Sunnis in Iraq want us to leave within a year. The number of Shiites making this call in Baghdad, where the U.S. may send more troops to bring order, is even higher (80%). In contrast, earlier this year, 57% of this same group backed an "open-ended" U.S. stay.
By a wide margin, both groups believe U.S. forces are provoking more violence than they're preventing -- and that day-to-day security would improve if we left.
We're losing friends in Iraq, not gaining them. The only bright spot is that we're uniting iraqis... Too bad we're uniting them against us.
The other poll shows that americans aren't all that hopeful about Iraq, either.
Claims by critics of the war in Iraq that this conflict is similar in many ways to the U.S. experience in Vietnam have long been derided by pundits and administrations officials. But a new survey finds that almost 6 in 10 Americans believe that the analogy is accurate.
A poll by Opinion Research Corporation released by CNN finds that 58% of respondents believe the war in Iraq has turned into a situation like the United States faced in Vietnam, up six points since early October.
In another finding, a whopping 63% of Americans now say they oppose the war in Iraq, with only 33% favoring it.
That 33% should really get their water analyzed -- something's making them crazy.
Tags: news politics Bush war Iraq poll
