Americans' Opinions About the Situation in Iraq
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
by Joseph Carroll
Views on the War in Iraq
A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Nov. 19-21, finds Americans still divided about the war in Iraq. Forty-seven percent of Americans say it was a mistake to send troops into Iraq, while 51% say it was not. These results show little change since the end of September. Over the past six polls, from the beginning of October through mid-November, the percentage of Americans who say it was a mistake to send troops has ranged from 44% to 48%.
Attitudes on Iraq, as measured by this question, have varied over the course of the year. In late June and early July, for example, a majority of Americans (54% in two consecutive surveys) believed it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq. Earlier in the year, slightly higher majorities than exist today -- between 54% and 58% -- said it was not a mistake to send troops.
The division of opinion on Iraq is reflected in responses to the question of whether Americans favor or oppose the war. Forty-eight percent of Americans say they favor it, while 46% are opposed. Gallup last asked this question in October 2003 and found a majority (54%) supporting the war at that time. During the first part of the war, from late March through late April 2003, support was much higher, with roughly 7 in 10 Americans endorsing the war.
Most Americans express some concern about the war in Iraq -- 35% say they are very worried, 39% say they are fairly worried, and 25% say they are not worried. Concern about the situation in Iraq is lower than it was as the Vietnam War escalated and troop strength neared 400,000. A November 1966 Gallup Poll found that nearly half of all Americans, 49%, said they were very worried about Vietnam, while 34% said they were fairly worried, and 15% said they were not worried.
Americans are not overly optimistic about how the war is going for the United States and its allies. Just 44% say the United States is winning the war, while 7% say the insurgents in Iraq are winning and 46% say neither side. Typically, the public is much more positive in its assessment of how the United States is doing in its war efforts. Still, the current results show improvement compared with a late October poll, at which time just 35% thought the United States was winning, 10% thought the insurgents were, and 53% saw it as a stalemate.