July 16, 2004
Poll Finds Dwindling War Support
For First Time, A Majority Thinks U.S. Made Mistake In Iraq
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Play CBS Video Video Foreign Iraq Support Wanes Kimberly Dozier reports the U.S. is slowly losing foreign support in Iraq as violent suicide bombings and attacks on civilians continue and more coalition members withdraw.
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Video Latest Bomber Kills 10 With chilling patience, a suicide bomber sat in a long line of cars waiting to enter the U.S.-Iraqi headquarters before setting off a blast that killed at least 10 people, Kimberly Dozier reports.
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Video Iraq Blast, Brit Intel Report A car bomb killed at least 11 people in Iraq, and the fate of a Filipino hostage remains unknown. A British report says intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq was flawed, Aileen Sirgany reports.
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(CBS/AP)
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Iraqi Border Police officers examine damage to a key oil pipeline in the al-Askari district, 20 miles south of Basra, where saboteurs drilled holes into the pipeline. (AP)
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A wrecked vehicle is seen after a bomb blast near the Bulgarian base in Karbala, where officers were tipped to the planned explosion and no civilians were hurt. (AP)
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
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Interactive American Heroes Profiles of U.S. soldiers who've died in Iraq, a look at the war's toll and pictures of mourning.
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Interactive Held Hostage Details on foreign workers and soldiers captured by insurgents in Iraq.
In other findings, 56 percent of Americans say the war is going badly for the U.S., up from 36 percent a year ago. And nearly two-third of Americans (62 percent) say the war has not been worth the cost.
The poll also found that 60 percent of Americans think the U.S. should not attack another country unless it attacks first. Thirty-three percent say the U.S. should strike first if it believes another country may attack it.
Thirty-four percent of Americans think Iraqis are safer now than an interim government is in place. Another 12 percent believe Iraqis are less safe, while 48 percent don't see any change.
Prior to the handover, only 16 percent of Americans expected Iraqis to be safer with the transfer of power.
In other developments:
Allawi's government has talked increasingly tough about tackling the insurgents. It passed emergency laws giving Allawi sweeping powers to combat the violence, and police have conducted sweeps of terror suspects in Baghdad and other cities.
Those actions may have spurred the insurgents to launch a series of attacks in recent days, Allawi said.
"They know that they should not give us a chance to rebuild our capabilities — security, police and the army. So they want to undermine our efforts," Allawi told The Associated Press on Thursday. They will "hit harder in the weeks ahead, and maybe even months ahead."
Scores of people have been killed in suicide bombings, shootings, car bombs and roadside assaults since the transfer of sovereignty from U.S. occupation officials to the interim government on June 28. Many of the attacks have targeted U.S. soldiers and Iraqi security forces. At least 38 U.S. troops have died since the handover.
In a news conference earlier Thursday, Allawi announced the creation of a new intelligence service, the General Security Directorate, which will focus on defeating the insurgency. The directorate "will annihilate those terrorist groups, God willing," he said.
Despite the ferocity and number of attacks in recent days, most coalition countries said Thursday they're standing firm.
Italy, whose contingent of 3,000 troops is the third-largest in Iraq, has no plans to pull out. Neither does Poland, with 2,500 soldiers; Romania, with 730 infantry and military police; Denmark, with 500 troops; Hungary, with 300; nor the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with about 100 each.
"An honorable country stays true to its undertakings," said Portugal's incoming foreign minister, Antonio Monteiro, summing up the stoicism of many member nations. Portugal has 120 police officers in Iraq.
Still, the Philippines' decision this week to withdraw its 51 peacekeepers in an effort to save the life of a kidnapped truck driver dealt a dramatic, if mostly symbolic, blow to the coalition. The international contingent already was weakened by Spain's pullout after deadly terrorist train bombings in Madrid.
In a new message to the kidnappers of Philippine hostage Angelo dela Cruz, Foreign Secretary Delia Albert said 11 soldiers were leaving for home Friday. On Wednesday, Albert said force strength was already down to 43.
The militants who captured dela Cruz said they would release him if the Philippines withdraws all of its 51 troops from Iraq by the end of the month, according to a statement read on Al-Jazeera on Thursday.
Al-Jazeera broadcast a video showing dela Cruz, who was not in the bright orange garment he wore in previous videos — an apparent sign that he is no longer under threat of death.
The Bush administration, which has struggled to get more countries to help secure Iraq, criticized the Filipino government and warned it might pay a price for caving in.
Bulgaria's government, despite working desperately to win the freedom of a captive Bulgarian truck driver after another driver reportedly was killed this week, rebuffed calls at home to pull out its 480 troops.
Its stance angered lawmakers and citizens who have been clamoring for a quick withdrawal so more Bulgarians aren't targeted.
"To avoid future situations in which Bulgarians are being kidnapped in Iraq, we have to pull out our troops," said lawmaker Andrei Pantev.
©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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