Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
- Many adults in the United States believe their country’s soldiers are not stabilizing Iraq, according to a poll by Knowledge Networks released by the Program on International Policy Attitudes. 60 per cent of respondents think the U.S. military presence in Iraq is currently provoking more conflict than it is preventing.
The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 2,924 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 22,000 troops have been wounded in action.
In December 2005, Iraqi voters renewed their National Assembly. In May, Shiite United Iraqi Alliance member Nouri al-Maliki officially took over as prime minister.
On Dec. 6, the Iraq Study Group—a bipartisan panel of experts—presented its findings on how to deal with the situation in Iraq. The ten members called for a quicker process to train Iraqi forces, engaging with Iran and Syria in a dialogue aimed at stabilizing Iraq, and pulling back U.S. combat troops by early 2008.
On Dec. 10, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani expressed his views on the document, declaring, "The report is not fair, is not just and it contains some very dangerous articles which undermine the sovereignty of Iraq and the constitution. (...) There is an article to bring back the Baathists to the political scene, which is very dangerous."
The Baath party—which dominated political life in Iraq during Hussein’s tenure—was disbanded in the weeks that followed the start of the war, and its members were forbidden from participating in public life.
Polling Data
Do you think the U.S. military presence in Iraq is currently:
| A stabilizing force | 35% |
| Provoking more conflict than it is preventing | 60% |
| No answer | 5% |
Source: Knowledge Networks / Program on International Policy Attitudes
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,326 American adults, conducted from Nov. 21 to Nov. 29, 2006. Margin of error is 2.7 per cent.
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