New Poll: 71 Percent Of Iraqis Want U.S. Forces To Withdraw Within A Year
New Poll: 71 Percent Of Iraqis Want U.S. Forces To Withdraw Within A Year
The Program on International Policy Attitudes released a new poll on Iraqi public opinion today which finds that seven in ten Iraqis want US-led forces to commit to withdraw within a year. Moreover, an overwhelming majority believes that the US military presence in Iraq is provoking more conflict than it is preventing. The poll was conducted during the first week of September. Here are some of its key findings:
– A large majority of Iraqis–71%–say they would like the Iraqi government to ask for US-led forces to be withdrawn from Iraq within a year or less. Given four options, 37 percent take the position that they would like US-led forces withdrawn “within six months,” while another 34 percent opt for “gradually withdraw[ing] US-led forces according to a one-year timeline.”
– Support for attacks against US-led forces has increased sharply to 61 percent (27% strongly, 34% somewhat). This represents a 14-point increase from January 2006, when only 47 percent of Iraqis supported attacks.
– More broadly, 79 percent of Iraqis say that the US is having a negative influence on the situation in Iraq, with just 14 percent saying that it is having a positive influence.
– Asked “If the US made a commitment to withdraw from Iraq according to a timeline, do you think this would strengthen the Iraqi government, weaken it, or have no effect either way?” 53 percent said that it would strengthen the government, while just 24 percent said it would weaken the government.
– Asked what effect it would have “if US-led forces withdraw from Iraq in the next six months,” 58 percent overall say that violence would decrease (35% a lot, 23% a little).
Read the full report HERE.
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49 Responses to “New Poll: 71 Percent Of Iraqis Want U.S. Forces To Withdraw Within A Year”
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Even the WaPo isn’t spinning this one, George
the best they could do was to stick it on page a21…
the entire story can be summed up in the first paragraph and the first sentence of the second… i guess we’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out… george appears to have gotten his you-know-what firmly caught in the wringer this time… but, will the usual rovian tactic of either creating a new diversion or waiting until the a.d.d.-besot media and american public lose interest work for them yet again…? stay tuned…
September 27th, 2006 at 10:30 amAnd, yes, I DO take it personally
F’n cut and run Iraqis!
September 27th, 2006 at 10:32 amGuess Baghdad will soon be hearing the “I’m the Decider” lecture from the Chimporer.
September 27th, 2006 at 10:49 amNow why am I not surprised… Ok they got rid of Sadam, but it didn’t really bring much good to the country; more like the oposite with the amount of chaos just even increasing. Not to forget the video footages and images which have reached the media about US soldiers abusing prisoners and such, doesn’t give much more faith in the US than they had in Sadam.
September 27th, 2006 at 10:52 amj
September 27th, 2006 at 10:59 amDon’t they understand that in a democracy, the only opinion that matters is George Bush’s?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:03 amAnd what is your point? Isn’t it funny how you liberals NEVER have a backbone, you just hold up finger and see what which way the wind is blowing.
Because you liberals have “no” backbone is one of the reasons you liberals don’t win any elections.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:06 amListen enough is enough I feel so sorry for those Iraqi people first Saddma now the Americans just leave them alone get out NOW
I feeling so sorry for them I actually feel like becaoming an Insurgent on their side and i would if only they leave my head in place
GET OUT NOW - - - Lets pretend it was not Americans there and Russians
just how pissed of would you be if it were Russians there …thats just how the rest of the world feels towards you
September 27th, 2006 at 11:06 amI know how you liberals just hate good news. So here is a QUESTION: How do you liberals like the gas prices now?
I like how the prices dropped, right before the mid-terms.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:10 am#1–cant leave until the permenant bases are finished. At which time, we wont really be “leaving”.
#2–cant leave until we use those bases for staging in our war with Iran.
#3–cant leave b/c the resulting chaos would focus the blame on Bush.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:11 amIs this % of Iraqis who want the U.S. to set a timeline for leaving about the same % of Americans who want the same thing?
Ah, who cares about the rule of the people in a democracy anyway!
September 27th, 2006 at 11:13 amWhy do Iraqis hate America?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:14 amRidiculous. Don’t the Iraqis already know that The Decider has already decided that the next president will be deciding when the decision will be made to remove American troops?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:15 amWhy do Iraqis hate our freedom?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:17 amI think the Russians should start a war with mexico to see how you all like war on your continent
September 27th, 2006 at 11:18 amG-Dawg
BushCo puts up his middle finger to the public, here and in Iraq.
Lower gas prices just before an election? Really? How did that happen? Did anything dramatic happen to effect the markets? Oh, yeah, the election is coming and the corporatist politicians need some boost. Never mind.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:19 amLets pretend for a minute it was the Russians making a dogs dinner of Invading Iraq to steal there oil
America would be up in arms and suppying the insurgency with weapons
September 27th, 2006 at 11:20 amThats exactly how we in Europe feel about America
#7 G-Dawg
And what is your point? Isn’t it funny how you liberals NEVER have a backbone, you just hold up finger and see what which way the wind is blowing.
Because you liberals have “no†backbone is one of the reasons you liberals don’t win any elections.
I guess the fact that you never address the issue, which in this case is the Iraqis overwhelmingly wanting us out of their country, means you can’t think of any way to spin it into a positive for Bush. It’s just getting too hard to do anymore, isn’t it.
Bush is losing the war in Iraq, he’s losing the support of the Iraqis, he’s losing the support of the American people, he’s losing the support of the intelligence community, he’s losing the support of the troops and their leaders, he’s losing Afghanistan to the Taliban again, he’s losing support from Republican candidates who want him to stay far away from them, he’s losing control every time he takes questions from the press. He’s just a big old loser.
So do you just cut and paste the “liberals don’t win any elections” line in there or do you actually type it out each time? Next time you post, see if you can actually say something.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:22 amShould we do exactly what a poll says everytime even in America? I don’t think either party would be happy with that outcome. Most all states would then have the death penalty and most all states would ban gay marriage amongst other things. BTW, I am against the Death penalty and I am for gay marriage. Just saying that if we ruled and set law based simply on a poll, we wouldn’t always get the best results.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:22 amWhy do Republicans hate Iraqis so much that they’ll bomb them into “democracy”?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:24 amPuppet Prime Minister Maliki should tell the US to get out .. 71% of his people want the US out…….
Prime Minister Maliki stand up and tell the US to get out now and stop siding with the Iranians to keep them there as cannon fodder…
September 27th, 2006 at 11:31 am#15 and #17 I agree. I’d like to know why the Brits haven’t spoken out about Tony Blair’s role as George Bush’s lap dog until now. Why wasn’t Blair ousted in 2000?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:31 am19. Of course we shouldn’t do exactly what a poll says but we should take note what this poll reveals. We here only get what the MSM feeds us unless we individually go out and look for information. This poll is inside Iraq and they are living with the turmoil and destruction. The Republican montra used to be “The US should not be the world’s police force” and our President had said “I don’t want the US to be Nation builders”. Now here is evidence that Iraq wants us to leave.
Why the flip and the flop RR?
September 27th, 2006 at 11:35 amRoger Roger
September 27th, 2006 at 11:35 amI agree with you, in principle. But, there are times when polls should be followed and the will of the people adhered to. The litmus test, while imperfect, is this: does the action the majority want infringe upon the rights of the minority. Iraq is a sovereign nation and if their people want the right of self-determination and to have us out, we should comply.
22. we have the same stubborn 33% of the population , mind you our voting systems are roughly the same we should use Proportional representation like ALL other European countires, ( As Blair Promised to get in power) that way nomatter who you vote for you have a say ????
see we are both stuck in Megalomaniac Politics
12 years blue, 12 years red, 12 years blue , 12 years red, meanwhile your lifetimes up and your children will suffer the same shit
September 27th, 2006 at 11:44 amimagine that!
September 27th, 2006 at 11:57 am#24 - …there are times when polls should be followed and the will of the people adhered to. The litmus test, while imperfect, is this: does the action the majority want infringe upon the rights of the minority…
Wow. What a democratic idea.
We could use some of this here in the good ‘ol USofA!
September 27th, 2006 at 11:59 am1,000 Iraqis in 18 provinces
Only houses on left side of street were included in poll
In houses with multiple occupants, the Iraqi with the most recent birthday was polled
Sounds like another meaningless poll. Pseudo-scientific at best.
WE’RE
September 27th, 2006 at 12:00 pm#22
because israel owns them. they run the brits and americans. we do their(zionists) dirty work. look, who has the most problems with the muslim nation? israel. who makes the middle east policy? zionists. and who do we side with? zionists. the same reason why bushco isn’t gone, tony blair isn’t gone. i believe the brits didn’t throw blair out. i believe blairs concious is what drove him out. i believe blair doesn’t want to be sitting on bushwhacks lap anymore. i believe blair knows the truth, the deep truth, like we do and wants to wash his hands of it.
September 27th, 2006 at 12:03 pm25… I hated the Reagan/Thatcher years, too. Thatcher with her obviously repressed sexual desires that she directed at Reagan and Reagan exploiting it for all it was worth was barf-inducing.
September 27th, 2006 at 12:07 pm#7 & 9 G-Dawg
My committ to your first question. That the liberal have no backbone. You are totally wrong. We had a hearing about the Iraq war yesterday that the Republican and whinney Lott did not like. The job the Republican are suppose to do but rubberstamp every thing the idiot decider wants. We will take both houses back in November and can start investigating the Old Bushies and his admin. on the Iraq war and the lies he told to the American people.
The second question about gas prices being lower is because it is a midterm election coming up in about 40 days. This is the only reason for this.
September 27th, 2006 at 12:12 pmIn the entire history of the Islamic world, less than 10,000 books ahve been translated into arabic from another language.
Contrast that with France, for instance, which translates that many books into French every six months.
The opinion of Iraqis should not be completely disregarded, nor should it be given much weight. Iraq is incapable of civil self-government at this time, just as Germany was for eight years following WW2.
If the U.S. leaves Iraq, Iraq falls to Iranian-controlled forces. Russia dominates Iran and would have uncontested control of the region if the U.S. abandons iraq. Since the U.S. has decided that standing up to Russia is in america’s best interest, the U.S. is not leaving.
WE’RE NOT LEAVING.
September 27th, 2006 at 12:16 pmIf it was up to me, I would start the withdraw today, and have all the troops out by the end of January 2007, but Bush butt will never leave the crude oil!
September 27th, 2006 at 12:18 pmre: 32 WE’RE NOT LEAVING.
Comment by Pacepa — September 27, 2006 @ 12:16 pm
Its my precious….my precious oil and you cannot have it muahahaaahaaheyeeahheeeeheeeyaaeeeeheee
September 27th, 2006 at 12:53 pmHahahaha G-Dawg… “Liberals hate good news” How can you tell, what good news are you refering to? “Liberals have no backbone” You mean backbone like this? http://www.nhgazette.com/ news/ chickenhawks/ chickenhawk_headquarters/
Roger Roger, sure we shouldn’t always follow polls, but folks like you forget it’s their fucking country! Not ours, theirs. They want us out period. Father Bush treats them, and us, as children.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:02 pmG Dawg’s posts have stopped making any sense at all. Complete non-sequiturs. The topic is on how Iraqis feel about the occupation (negatively), and Dawg writes something about liberals and backbone. Bizarre.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:12 pm#19 Roger_Roger
Should we do exactly what a poll says everytime even in America?
When the Iraqis have been polled on more than one occasion and they’re overwhelmingly in favor of the U.S. getting out of their country, why does Bush keep trying to tell us the opposite? That’s why the polls matter.
When the troops serving over there are polled and a similar number say we (they) should get out of Iraq by the end of the year, that matters. And Bush, as usual, lies to the American people every time he gets up and tells us “we’re winning over there”, “we’re fighting terrorists there so we don’t have to fight them here”, “the Iraqi people want us there”, “the troops want to stay there as long as it takes to get the job done”, and “the world is safer because we invaded Iraq”.
The facts don’t back him up and neither do the polls. He just doesn’t have the emotional maturity to admit when he’s wrong, and he doesn’t mind that his childish refusal to change his mind is causing the needless deaths of thousands upon thousands of innocent people.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:32 pmMahmoud al-Mashhadani, the outspoken Sunni speaker of parliament who this summer said that “the U.S. occupation is the work of butchers,” now supports the U.S. military staying in Iraq for as long as a decade.
“They should stay for four years. This is the minimum. Maybe 10 years.”
“Of course we want the Americans to leave, but if they do, it will be a great disaster for us.”
“I really don’t like the Americans who patrol on the street. They should all go away,” said a young boy as he swept up hair on the shop’s floor. “But I do like the one who guards my church. He should stay!”
Geez….make up your minds…….Should we stay or should we go?
September 27th, 2006 at 2:34 pmthis poll is “just a comma in history.”
September 27th, 2006 at 2:43 pm“Stay so we can kill you on video. Then you can go.” - Sunnis
“Stay so you can help us kill Sunnis. Then you can go.” - Shiites
September 27th, 2006 at 3:05 pm[…] The Program on International Policy Attitudes released a new poll on Iraqi public opinion today which finds that seven in ten Iraqis want US-led forces to commit to withdraw within a year. Moreover, an overwhelming majority believes that the US military presence in Iraq is provoking more conflict than it is preventing. See here for the key findingsread more | digg story […]
September 27th, 2006 at 7:51 pmG-Dawg… Liberals have no backbone? You mean they don’t have the same thirst for blood as (Rep)tiles? You may be right.
We just don’t get our jollies bombing innocent children. Sorry. We leave that to people with “backbone” who love killing innocent people. I guess Osama has “backbone”. Right?
If killing innocent civilians is terrorism, then Bush is the world’s leading terrorist.. right? Yup! What “backbone” he has.
I thought we believe in democracy… the majority want us out of THEIR country, but you think we still have a right to be there? That’s because you think you are superior to them, don’t you… c’mon… be honest.
If another country bombed my city and occupied my streets, I would be building explosives as fast as I could could and would be trying to kill every one of them I could…AND SO WOULD YOU (I hope)!
Do you really think they feel any different about their country than you feel about yours? Do you think they have less pride? Do you really think destroying a country in the way we have… FOR NO REASON… isn’t going to increase terrorism? Get real…
You Republicans live in a freakin dreamland. Trust me… you shall be rudely awakened.
September 28th, 2006 at 2:49 am#31 Mary Poppins
I dont’ think we will take the house and senate back… you see, the Reptiles are pretty clever…. they have placed electronic voting machines in key states. Machines that cannot be audited, can be programmed to give any result desired, and then erase all tracks of the deception….
In the last election in three key states exit polls showed Kerry ahead by five or so points, only to have the machines give it to Bush. The fix is in… we are going to have to go to war with the Republicans if we intend to take our country back from the party of greed, selfishness, and evil.
September 28th, 2006 at 2:58 am[…] It’s no secret that people - from the Iraqis themselves to Pakistan and a healthy majority of US citizens - think the US shouldn’t be in Iraq. Their reasons are a diverse as the causes and effects of this putrid pox on the nation. […]
September 30th, 2006 at 9:47 am[…] Tolerate? Is that why 71% want us to leave, 61% support attacks on our troops, and 58% say the violence would decrease if we would leave? The Iraqi people do not support this, the world does not support this, and any American who has pulled their head out of their ass for ten seconds doesn’t support this war. The only people tolerating this war are the war criminals in the White House, lap dogs, and people who beleive their right to feel safe outweighs the rest of the world’s right to exist. This report is just another nail; the facts have been in for a long time. Anyone who still supports this war and this President is ethically bankrupt. […]
October 12th, 2006 at 11:16 am[…] Meanwhile, a majority of Iraqis (71%) want us to withdraw within a year. And I thought they were still welcoming us with open arms. […]
October 13th, 2006 at 1:47 pm“I feeling so sorry for them I actually feel like becoming an Insurgent on their side and i would if only they leave my head in place”
Well WE won’t leave your head in place.
Yeah? Well the RATS are succeding in convincing folks this is a mistake. The mistake is the rats are going to precipitate a civil war here and end up in their own green zone.
Democrats are lying traitorous pieces of crap their your due will come.
October 18th, 2006 at 10:21 amHow can we do this if even most of the Iraqis believe that we shouldn’t be there? It’s absurd. We need to get out, and we need screwheads like George W. Bush to actually start to pay attention to this issue. They say so many soldiers are dying each day, but that is our fault for provoking the Iraqis.
December 18th, 2006 at 7:44 pm[…] excerpts here.One can undoubtedly voice reasonable objections to some of these points. But they have long been the views of a huge portion of Iraqis — on whose behalf Americans are constantly told they […]
March 26th, 2008 at 7:58 pm