Poll: Most Americans Say Iraq War Was a Mistake
CBS
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
With combat operations in Iraq coming to an end, most Americans believe the war is going well for the United States, a new CBS News survey finds. But nearly six in ten say it was a mistake to start the battle in the first place, and most say their country did not accomplish its objectives in Iraq.
Fifty-seven percent now say the war is going well for America, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents. That reflects improved perceptions since July 2007, when just 22 percent said things were going well. Thirty-eight percent say things are going badly.
Thirty-five percent predict more violence in Iraq because of the troop withdrawal, while 60 percent say the violence will lessen or stay where it is now.
Asked who should get credit for how things are going in Iraq, one in three say both the Obama and Bush administrations. Twenty-six percent credit the Bush administration, 20 percent credit the Obama administration, and 19 percent say neither deserves credit.
Fifty-two percent approve of how President Obama is handing the situation in Iraq.
Americans are split on how the Iraqi people are feeling toward the United States at this point. Forty-one percent say most are feeling grateful, while 37 percent say they are feeling resentful.
The percentage of Americans who say America did the right thing in going to war in Iraq now stands at 37 percent. Fifty-nine percent say the war was a mistake, up from 55 percent in March of last year. While most Democrats and independents say the United States should not have gone to war, 63 percent of Republicans say it was the right thing to do.
Only one in five say the war was worth the loss of life and other costs that came with it. Seventy-two percent say the war was not worth it. The opinions of households with Iraq veterans mirror the opinions of all Americans on this question.
Twenty-five percent overall say the war has made the United States safer from terrorism, a drop of 11 percentage points since March of 2008. Eighteen percent say it has made American less safe, while most - 55 percent - say it has made no difference.
Fifty-one percent say the United States did not succeed in accomplishing its objectives in Iraq. Forty-one percent say it did succeed in doing so.
Americans continue to be pessimistic about American prospects in the war in Afghanistan, though perceptions have improved since last month. Fifty-two percent say things are going badly for the United States in the war there, a drop of ten points from July. Thirty-seven percent say things are going well.
Americans are split on whether America should be involved in Afghanistan at this point. Forty-three percent say the United States should be involved there, including most Republicans; 48 percent say it should not, including most Democrats.
Search the CBS News Poll Database
MORE FROM THE POLL:
Poll: Obama Approval Rating Up Slightly
Poll: Most Think Some Bush Tax Cuts Should Expire
Poll: Americans Split over Birthright Citizenship
Poll: Nearly 3 in 10 Support Tea Party
Poll: Most Say New Orleans Deserves More U.S. Aid
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,082 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone August 20-24, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
Popular in Politics
- Adviser on White House scandals: "Partisan fishing expeditions" won't distract Obama 161 Comments
- Romney condemns "breach of trust" in Washington
- Obama: Racism is no excuse for not excelling Play Video
- Benghazi-disciplined diplomat a prolific poet
- Republicans continue beating Benghazi drum 81 Comments
- Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice" 363 Comments
- Michelle Obama decries "slander" that educated blacks are "trying to act white" Play Video
- Where is the Benghazi cover-up Republicans promised? 425 Comments
Or are their ego's too big to admit when they were wrong? Are they still "blind fools for bush", and admitting this was a bad decision some how puts their entire idolater relationship with bush into question?
Why didn't they ask the Iraqi people this question? The percentages would probably be quite different. If someone had taken a poll of the German people when Hitler was parading down the Champs-?lys?es, most would have probably approved, even if only out of fear. But ask the Germans today if they think Hitler was so great, and you will get a resounding "NEIN".
As time passes, the current 37% approval of this debacle will continue to shrink, and if, by some miracle or divine intervention, the people of the USA regain control of their senses and their government, the percentage will go to zero, where it belongs.
The man who caused 911 wasn't killed until Obama drew down US forces in Iraq in 2010 and ramped up the hunt for him in 2011
Get your facts straight
I am not qualified to answer intelligently.
But, I will say, We have not been attacked in the past 10 years and that is good. It must have had some impact. :)
I doubt the terrorists just gave up trying.
Thank you to our FINE people that have made our Nation safer. :) I will not ignore that fact.
It cost 4500 lives, 800 billion dollars and took 8 years to go on a wild goose-chase against weapons that Bush himself later admitted...never existed.
To say we shouldn't have taken care, of the unfinished business, is inaccurate. What is accurate, is to say that if the unfinished business hadn't been left behind, after the Gulf War, then the Iraq War, would have been unnecessary.
With Saddaam gone and the Shiites in power, Iran and Iraq patched up their differences, traded embassies, reopened trade and are now friendly nations sharing the same shiite religion.
No longer having to pump money into expensive border defenses freed up resources to allow Iran to develope it's nuclear weapons program.
The biggest winner of the war in Iraq....IRAN
More forums need to be opened to plain citizens like myself, so that the country can consider regrets it may be forced to confront when good decisions are killed off in favor of popular beliefs.
Our sensational news media is often the greatest enemy to the country. It entices emotion and inflates value for less important factors causing great distortion to our best judgment.
No one has to be privileged to know the facts. Every citizen has that right and needs to discern. Military experience does often teach how to choose our battles, and how to set realistic objectives when resolving a conflict that actually has resolution.
The 2003 Iraqi invasion was marketed as a re-tread of the 1993 Gulf War script. We were made to believe it would be easy and that the same reasons to deploy still existed. The national anxiety of the 9-11 attack and the inability to find Osama Bin Laden made the Iraqi invasion attractive. The next 60 years will bring problems into our arena that we were not intended to engage or solve. It will be a drain and cause us great hesitance on engaging the real problems we actually were intended to solve.
Based on lies about Iraq being part of 9-11 and many others
My generation went through the Viet Nam War and we lost some many soldiers and also so many thousands injured.
Then the Iraq War started. I was against it from the start but many were for it. I believe it was for revenge against Sadam and for oil.
All reasons Pres Bush and Cheney were lies !! Now most people agree with me. Such a waste of lives and money-
He could have done more to stabilize the region than George Worthless going to war just so he could get a woody.