Thursday, September 28, 2006
Iraqi public - U.S. presence causes more conflict than it prevents
Security
About three-quarters of Iraqis believe U.S. forces are provoking more conflict than they are preventing in Iraq and should be withdrawn within a year, a survey released on Wednesday showed. The poll of 1,150 people, conducted in September by the Program on International Policy Attitudes from the University of Maryland, also found growing support for attacks against American-led forces, with a majority of Iraqis now favoring them.
The release of the survey came a day after President George W. Bush declassified a national intelligence report saying the Iraq war had become a "cause celebre" that was breeding deep resentment in the Muslim world and helping Islamist militants cultivate supporters.
The findings were similar to those of a State Department study reported in The Washington Post on Wednesday but not released publicly. That poll found a strong majority of Iraqis wanted American forces to leave immediately. It asked whether people favored U.S. troops leaving immediately, staying until the government asked them to leave or saying until the violence stopped.
The University of Maryland poll found that 78 percent of Iraqis believe the U.S. military presence causes more conflict than it prevents. Among Iraq's three main communities, only Kurds tended to see the U.S. military presence as a stabilising force, with 56 percent agreeing with that statement versus 17 percent of Shi'ites and 2 percent of Sunnis. Ninety-seven percent of Sunnis said they believed the American presence caused more conflict than it prevented, compared with 82 percent of Shi'ites and 41 percent of Kurds.
Most Iraqis -- 71 percent -- said U.S. soldiers should be withdrawn within a year, but only 37 percent favored an American withdrawal in the next six months. Only Sunnis wanted U.S. forces out within six months, and only Kurds favored a longer U.S. presence, as much as two years or more.
The poll found that most Iraqis -- 53 percent -- believed the Iraqi government would be strengthened by a commitment from Washington to withdraw within a fixed timetable. It also found growing confidence in the Iraqi security forces and a high level of suspicion the United States intends to maintain a permanent military presence in Iraq.
The poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, which was conducted for WorldPublicOpinion.org, used face-to-face interviews and a complicated methodology to try to get a representative sample.
The release of the survey came a day after President George W. Bush declassified a national intelligence report saying the Iraq war had become a "cause celebre" that was breeding deep resentment in the Muslim world and helping Islamist militants cultivate supporters.
The findings were similar to those of a State Department study reported in The Washington Post on Wednesday but not released publicly. That poll found a strong majority of Iraqis wanted American forces to leave immediately. It asked whether people favored U.S. troops leaving immediately, staying until the government asked them to leave or saying until the violence stopped.
The University of Maryland poll found that 78 percent of Iraqis believe the U.S. military presence causes more conflict than it prevents. Among Iraq's three main communities, only Kurds tended to see the U.S. military presence as a stabilising force, with 56 percent agreeing with that statement versus 17 percent of Shi'ites and 2 percent of Sunnis. Ninety-seven percent of Sunnis said they believed the American presence caused more conflict than it prevented, compared with 82 percent of Shi'ites and 41 percent of Kurds.
Most Iraqis -- 71 percent -- said U.S. soldiers should be withdrawn within a year, but only 37 percent favored an American withdrawal in the next six months. Only Sunnis wanted U.S. forces out within six months, and only Kurds favored a longer U.S. presence, as much as two years or more.
The poll found that most Iraqis -- 53 percent -- believed the Iraqi government would be strengthened by a commitment from Washington to withdraw within a fixed timetable. It also found growing confidence in the Iraqi security forces and a high level of suspicion the United States intends to maintain a permanent military presence in Iraq.
The poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, which was conducted for WorldPublicOpinion.org, used face-to-face interviews and a complicated methodology to try to get a representative sample.
