J-10
06-10-2004, 10:52 PM
6:34 PM PDT, June 10, 2004
Most Voters Say It Was Not Worth Going to War in Iraq
By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - Most U.S. voters now say it was not worth going to war in Iraq, but an overwhelming majority reject the idea of setting a deadline to withdraw all U.S. forces from the country, according to a new Times Poll.
Though the survey found voters increasingly worried that America is becoming ensnarled in Iraq and pessimistic that a democratic government will take root there, less than 1 in 5 said America should withdraw all its forces within weeks. And less than 1 in 4 endorse the idea advanced by some Democratic-leaning foreign policy experts and liberal groups to establish a specific date for withdrawal.
"I never thought we should go to war in Iraq," said Anne Wardwell, a retired museum curator in Cleveland who responded to the poll. "But I think we have to see it through, because if we don't, it is going to be a disaster in the region."
The survey also showed widespread concern that the war has damaged America's image in the world, a strong desire to see NATO take the lead in managing the conflict, and deep division over whether President Bush can rally more international support for the rebuilding effort.
The Times Poll, supervised by director Susan Pinkus, surveyed 1,230 registered voters from Saturday through Tuesday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Anxiety over the war's direction and reluctance to abandon the cause in Iraq radiate through the survey.
Most Americans retain faith that the U.S. can control the military situation in the country. Just over half of those polled - 52% - said the U.S. is winning the war; only 24% said the insurgents are winning.
But voters are uncertain about the prospects of achieving broader goals in Iraq. Just 35% said the U.S. "is making good progress in Iraq," while 61% said they believed the U.S. "is getting bogged down." Those agreeing with bogged down included three-fifths of independents and more than four-fifths of Democrats.
A majority of Republicans, like Rosemary Wolfram of Cincinnati, agreed that progress is occurring. "I think we see some light at the end of the tunnel on the war," said Wolfram, a legal assistant.
Noting that an Iraqi interim government is preparing to assume sovereignty on June 30, she added, "That is going in the right direction."
In perhaps the most emphatic measure of anxiety about Iraq, 53% said they did not believe the situation there merited the war; 43% said it did. When the Times Poll asked that question last November and March, the numbers were essentially reversed.
In the latest survey, more than four-fifths of Republicans viewed the war as justified, while more than four-fifths of Democrats and 54% of independents said it was not.
"Since there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I have doubts that it was worth it, especially considering the amount of resentment and distrust that this has caused, not only with our allies but in the whole Muslim world," said Ray Luechtefeld, a professor at the University of Missouri.
The poll underscores how attitudes about the war loom as a dividing line in the presidential election. Among those who believe the threat from Iraq justified war, Bush leads Kerry, 83% to 13%. Among those who now believe the war was not justified, Kerry leads, 84% to 11%.
Expectations are limited for the Iraqi interim government now taking power. Nearly two-thirds of those polled said they don't believe the interim government will be able to govern the country without help from the U.S. and its allies.
And many are pessimistic that the Iraqis can sustain a democratic government: just 38% believe it is likely that Iraq will maintain a democracy after the U.S.-led coalition forces leave, while 49% consider it unlikely.
Also, nearly three-fifths said Bush's Iraqi policies have hurt America's image abroad; only 1 in 5 believe they have improved attitudes toward the U.S.
Such concerns have eroded confidence in Bush's management of the war. Just 44% now said they approved of Bush's handling of the war; in March, that figure was 51%. In the new poll, only 35% said he has outlined a clear plan to succeed in Iraq.
Asked about his handling of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, 41% approved and 37% disapproved.
Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has faced criticism from some in his party for not offering a more distinct alternative to Bush's Iraq policy. In a sign that Kerry's position is murky to many voters, the new poll found just 15% said he has offered a clear plan on how to handle the situation, while 34% say he has not and the rest don't know.
But another question points to the opening for Kerry created by doubts about Bush's direction. Voters split almost in half when asked if they accepted Kerry's contention that Bush has lost so much credibility around the world that only a new president "can rally the support of U.S. allies to help stabilize Iraq."
Forty-six percent agreed with that charge, 47% disagreed. A majority of independents sided with Kerry, including Luechtefeld, the University of Missouri professor. "I think the best option is to get rid of President Bush, have him voted out of office, so that some of the attitudes will change abroad," he said.
Leah Hubertz, a hair stylist from Delavan, Wis., embodied the ambivalence on that question.
"I think the rest of the world would like us a little bit more if we changed leaders," she said. "But if you replaced [Bush] right now with John Kerry, I don't know how good a job he would be doing in the same position."
Most voters are eager for more international help in Iraq: 56% said the U.S. should give NATO the principle role in securing the country. Kerry has proposed such an idea but NATO, which will discuss the question at its summit this month, has been reluctant to accept even a minor role.
Just 24% of those polled said the U.S. should establish a deadline for withdrawing all its troops from Iraq, as experts such as James B. Steinberg, the former deputy national security advisor under President Clinton, have proposed. Fully 73% rejected that idea.
The poll found Americans inclined to defer to the new Iraqi government on whether to increase or reduce the size of the U.S. deployment.
Asked what the U.S. should do as the new government takes power, 41% wanted to reduce the American presence, with 18% of those voters saying all troops should be withdrawn and 23% calling for partial withdrawal.
But an equal 41% said the U.S. should add or subtract troops only at the request of the interim government itself. (Another 9% wanted to increase the troop deployment regardless of the interim government's view.)
The cooperative impulse only extended so far in the poll: 51% said the Iraqi government should not be given a veto over military operations by the U.S. and its allies.
From (http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/timespoll/la-na-iraqpoll11jun11,1,5543291.story?coll=la-home-headlines)
Most Voters Say It Was Not Worth Going to War in Iraq
By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - Most U.S. voters now say it was not worth going to war in Iraq, but an overwhelming majority reject the idea of setting a deadline to withdraw all U.S. forces from the country, according to a new Times Poll.
Though the survey found voters increasingly worried that America is becoming ensnarled in Iraq and pessimistic that a democratic government will take root there, less than 1 in 5 said America should withdraw all its forces within weeks. And less than 1 in 4 endorse the idea advanced by some Democratic-leaning foreign policy experts and liberal groups to establish a specific date for withdrawal.
"I never thought we should go to war in Iraq," said Anne Wardwell, a retired museum curator in Cleveland who responded to the poll. "But I think we have to see it through, because if we don't, it is going to be a disaster in the region."
The survey also showed widespread concern that the war has damaged America's image in the world, a strong desire to see NATO take the lead in managing the conflict, and deep division over whether President Bush can rally more international support for the rebuilding effort.
The Times Poll, supervised by director Susan Pinkus, surveyed 1,230 registered voters from Saturday through Tuesday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Anxiety over the war's direction and reluctance to abandon the cause in Iraq radiate through the survey.
Most Americans retain faith that the U.S. can control the military situation in the country. Just over half of those polled - 52% - said the U.S. is winning the war; only 24% said the insurgents are winning.
But voters are uncertain about the prospects of achieving broader goals in Iraq. Just 35% said the U.S. "is making good progress in Iraq," while 61% said they believed the U.S. "is getting bogged down." Those agreeing with bogged down included three-fifths of independents and more than four-fifths of Democrats.
A majority of Republicans, like Rosemary Wolfram of Cincinnati, agreed that progress is occurring. "I think we see some light at the end of the tunnel on the war," said Wolfram, a legal assistant.
Noting that an Iraqi interim government is preparing to assume sovereignty on June 30, she added, "That is going in the right direction."
In perhaps the most emphatic measure of anxiety about Iraq, 53% said they did not believe the situation there merited the war; 43% said it did. When the Times Poll asked that question last November and March, the numbers were essentially reversed.
In the latest survey, more than four-fifths of Republicans viewed the war as justified, while more than four-fifths of Democrats and 54% of independents said it was not.
"Since there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I have doubts that it was worth it, especially considering the amount of resentment and distrust that this has caused, not only with our allies but in the whole Muslim world," said Ray Luechtefeld, a professor at the University of Missouri.
The poll underscores how attitudes about the war loom as a dividing line in the presidential election. Among those who believe the threat from Iraq justified war, Bush leads Kerry, 83% to 13%. Among those who now believe the war was not justified, Kerry leads, 84% to 11%.
Expectations are limited for the Iraqi interim government now taking power. Nearly two-thirds of those polled said they don't believe the interim government will be able to govern the country without help from the U.S. and its allies.
And many are pessimistic that the Iraqis can sustain a democratic government: just 38% believe it is likely that Iraq will maintain a democracy after the U.S.-led coalition forces leave, while 49% consider it unlikely.
Also, nearly three-fifths said Bush's Iraqi policies have hurt America's image abroad; only 1 in 5 believe they have improved attitudes toward the U.S.
Such concerns have eroded confidence in Bush's management of the war. Just 44% now said they approved of Bush's handling of the war; in March, that figure was 51%. In the new poll, only 35% said he has outlined a clear plan to succeed in Iraq.
Asked about his handling of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, 41% approved and 37% disapproved.
Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has faced criticism from some in his party for not offering a more distinct alternative to Bush's Iraq policy. In a sign that Kerry's position is murky to many voters, the new poll found just 15% said he has offered a clear plan on how to handle the situation, while 34% say he has not and the rest don't know.
But another question points to the opening for Kerry created by doubts about Bush's direction. Voters split almost in half when asked if they accepted Kerry's contention that Bush has lost so much credibility around the world that only a new president "can rally the support of U.S. allies to help stabilize Iraq."
Forty-six percent agreed with that charge, 47% disagreed. A majority of independents sided with Kerry, including Luechtefeld, the University of Missouri professor. "I think the best option is to get rid of President Bush, have him voted out of office, so that some of the attitudes will change abroad," he said.
Leah Hubertz, a hair stylist from Delavan, Wis., embodied the ambivalence on that question.
"I think the rest of the world would like us a little bit more if we changed leaders," she said. "But if you replaced [Bush] right now with John Kerry, I don't know how good a job he would be doing in the same position."
Most voters are eager for more international help in Iraq: 56% said the U.S. should give NATO the principle role in securing the country. Kerry has proposed such an idea but NATO, which will discuss the question at its summit this month, has been reluctant to accept even a minor role.
Just 24% of those polled said the U.S. should establish a deadline for withdrawing all its troops from Iraq, as experts such as James B. Steinberg, the former deputy national security advisor under President Clinton, have proposed. Fully 73% rejected that idea.
The poll found Americans inclined to defer to the new Iraqi government on whether to increase or reduce the size of the U.S. deployment.
Asked what the U.S. should do as the new government takes power, 41% wanted to reduce the American presence, with 18% of those voters saying all troops should be withdrawn and 23% calling for partial withdrawal.
But an equal 41% said the U.S. should add or subtract troops only at the request of the interim government itself. (Another 9% wanted to increase the troop deployment regardless of the interim government's view.)
The cooperative impulse only extended so far in the poll: 51% said the Iraqi government should not be given a veto over military operations by the U.S. and its allies.
From (http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/timespoll/la-na-iraqpoll11jun11,1,5543291.story?coll=la-home-headlines)