Poll: Iraq Going Badly And Getting Worse

Majority In CBS News Survey Doubt U.S. Can Win; 62% Call War 'A Mistake'

(CBS)  Americans believe the war in Iraq is going badly and getting worse, and think it's time for the U.S. either to change its strategy or start getting out, according to a CBS News poll.

Forty-three percent say the U.S. should keep fighting, but with new tactics, while 50 percent say the U.S. should begin to end its involvement altogether. Only 4 percent say the U.S. should keep fighting as it is doing now.

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Read the complete CBS News poll results.

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Just 21 percent approve of President Bush's handling of the war, the lowest number he's ever received, and an 8-point drop from just a month ago. Most of that drop has been among Republicans and conservatives. Three-quarters of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling Iraq.

BUSH'S JOB HANDLING IRAQ

Now
Approve
21%
Disapprove
75%

11/14/2006
Approve
29%
Disapprove
67%

Opposition to the war is now taking on historic proportions, with 62 percent saying it was "a mistake" to send U.S. troops to Iraq — slightly more than told a Gallup Poll in 1973 that it was a mistake to send U.S. forces to Vietnam.

Americans generally agree with the assessment of the Iraq Study Group, which called the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating." But fewer than half — 46 percent — think Mr. Bush will seriously consider the bipartisan panel's recommendations; 43 percent think he will not.

Seventy-one percent say the war is going badly, including 39 percent who believe the war is going very badly. Just 25 percent say it's going well. The negative assessment of the war was shared by a majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

Half of all Americans believe the situation in Iraq is getting worse, while fewer than one in 10 think it's getting better.

IS THE SITUATION IN IRAQ…?

Getting better
8%
Getting worse
52%
Staying the same
38%

Only 15 percent of Americans — the lowest number ever — say the U.S. is currently winning the war. And for the first time, a majority (53 percent) believes it's not likely that the U.S. will ultimately succeed.

Sixty percent think that Iraq will never become a stable democracy — the highest number ever — while 85 percent now characterize the situation there as a civil war.

WILL THE U.S. SUCCEED IN IRAQ?

Very likely
9%
Somewhat likely
34%
Not very/not at all likely
53%

Fifty-seven percent say Mr. Bush needs to make major changes in his Iraq policy, while 29 percent think only minor changes should be made. Just 8 percent think no changes in U.S. policy are needed.

By a 2-1 margin, Americans now say they have more confidence in congressional Democrats to handle the war than in the president.

Nearly six in 10 Americans want to see some kind of a drawdown in U.S. troop levels, including 25 percent who want all U.S. forces removed from Iraq.

Only 39 percent of Americans now say taking military action against Iraq was the right thing to do, tying the lowest number ever, while 55 percent say the U.S. should have stayed out. The country was evenly divided on this question as recently as a year ago.

For detailed information on how CBS News conducts public opinion surveys, click here.

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 922 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone Dec. 8-10, 2006. 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.

[bluestardad]

So who is the country turning to in order to get us out of Iraq? Or must we exercise our constitutional rights and march on washington?

[paganems1]

39 % of the american people STILL think that going into Iraq was the right thing to do? ONLY 39%! that should be 0%!!!!

[arthurcl1]

Opposition to the war is now taking on historic proportions, with 62 percent saying it was "a mistake" to send U.S. troops to Iraq %u2014 slightly more than told a Gallup Poll in 1973 that it was a mistake to send U.S. forces to Vietnam.
Look at Bush in Photo at the top, it looks like they didn't have to search very hard for a "Bush with a lost face" to show. Poor Bush, more bad news for him!

[arthurcl1]

BUSH%u2019S JOB HANDLING IRAQ

Now
Approve
21%
Disapprove
75%

[dwhanson]

I wonder what 922 people were asked, I know that the people we know are still 100% behind our troops doing what it takes! But I guess as usual the squeaky wheel....

[meyerda]

CBS has wanted to turn this war into a Vietnam since the very start. Why don't they poll our soldiers. Let me guess, the opinion of the soldiers would't fit the liberal agenda of the CBS news.

[meyerda]

Lets take an opinion poll on how many people think the CBS news is biased against President Bush and Republicans.

[meyerda]

I hope the liberal propaganda of this news organization backfires on them. This News organization has more sympathy to the insurgents in Iraq than they do toward our own soldiers.

[mrthornman]

meyerda:

The truth sometimes hurts.

[jn122736]

sending our soldiers to die for lies is despicable. but so is using them like a club at every turn to defend the liars.

[petesis]

Bush is very persistent. You can sense he is not going to take the recommendations of the Iraq study group. Persistence can be an admirable thing but when you are moronic and persistent it can get alot of people hurt. Gee I guess I must be a "liberal" eh? Not hardly.

[tipicleman]

Guess the posters who are for bush and the republicans are part of the 21% who approve and the 8 percent that thinks its getting better!

You could say that those posters are delusional. In fact they are delusional.

[avquidnat]

It's interesting to see that some folks still equate dissention about the war and disagreement with our President with supporting terrorism, being unpatriotic, and being a downright terrible American. I think that in this late stage in the game, and with all of the things that have been going on in the past few months, this viewpoint is downright silly to seriously hold on to. Now, to this effect, I also think it is unproductive to trash our president, point fingers and say "I told you so," even though it is very tempting for those of us who saw a problem with The Iraq War from the get go.

Right now the President himself is acknowledging the problems in Iraq. He is reaching out for help and to the American people for support. I for one say this is the best opportunity for unity and multilateral movement we have had for the last six years; and as a person who has had his opinions about this administration, I say it's time to take off the boxing gloves, shake hands and move on.

For those of you who still endlessly defend our president and those who continually trash him and provide no alternative other than "he stinks," I submit that both parties are part of the problem and not the solution. Terrorism revels in our dissunity.

[petesis]

I would not think it would help to impeach Bush at this point but if he persists in going down this dead end road I hope they do impeach him for incompetence.

[Syndicate]

I think cCBS is biased in their coverage I just searched this sight for the Iranian protest. Nothing. Wonder why? Whgat was the approval rating for going into Iraq? Was it not 75%? That is the only number that matters because thats the one that started this. It doesn't matter what people think now because their opinions from before have obligated us to this course of action. You have to stay the course of making Iraq a better place. You are morally obligated to do this because you supported the invasion in the first place. I know I did. I think a months worth of american car accident victims is an awfully low price to pay for Iraqi freedom. But I would agree with anyone who says this was all F'ed up. Its time to get serious, finish the job and come home.

[exusmcsgt]

With the erosion from last month's polls being principally Republican disafection with Bubba's folly, it appears that even the Repubs recognize that the Emperor wears no clothes.....

[rsoxfan1123]

meyerda-you think that CBS bias is the cause of those poll numbers? Maybe you should staring at FOX. they continued to run stories about Iraq having tried to purchase uranium for three months after bush and his cronies admitted the documents were false. You could join Rush Limbuagh.

[arthurcl1]

GEORGE W. BUSH JOB HANDLING IRAQ

Now
Approve
21%
Disapprove
75%

[rsoxfan1123]

meyerda- you do realize that "liberal" means "free"; "liberal media" is synonymous with "Free press".

[rsoxfan1123]

arthurcl1- unfortunately it took six years, $500 billion, 3000 US lives and 40,000 or so limbs blown off before enough people started to figure it out to make a difference. congress may actually refuse to give him money for the military which will force him to bring our troops home.

[omded]

The Statements:
WE must stay the course!
WE must not "cut and run"!

The Translations:
YOUR SON must stay the course!
YOUR SON must not "cut and run"!

The Fact:
Over 2800 American Sons killed in Iraq.

The Question:
Has the President killed YOUR son yet?

[jimkun]

Hey! Don't be so overdramatic... It's not just sons getting killed... It's sons, daughters, fathers, brothers...

[rsoxfan1123]

60% of people polled in 1973 thought Viet Nam was a mistake, and 75% of people now think Iraq is a mistake. That is HUGE. Bush will go down in history, all right.

[lucasnico]

cbscrash07............the number of 75% approval of going to war could not be more misleading. The vote was based on lies handed out by.....oh yeah, Bush. He had an agenda, didn't think beyond his nose, and is solely responsible for this mess. The only regret our leaders should have is believing their boss, the president....which, as you can see, is not the case anymore. As Bush said himself, Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me........can't get fooled again. (pure genius!)

[nothappyatall]

GEORGE W. BUSH JOB HANDLING IRAQ

Approve 21%
Disapprove 75%

And it seems this 21% is RABIDLY sticking up for their whipping boy as never doing anything wrong, he's their HERO!

This is laughable, this idiot has ratings lower than Nixon during Watergate, and 2 years left to go and about all the approval rating numbers have been doing is steadily DROPPING every month, is it possible it could go as low as ZERO and this idiot STILL be President?

Yeah the 8% that think Iraq is getting BETTER probably never read the news, it's falling apart over there into civil war already, we have lost control and this whole idiocy was a complete waste.

[ceekuei]

Bush is finished as President. In the coming months he will be seen as being more and more irrelevant as his mule-like obstinacy increases exponentially. The situation in Iraq is already unstable. Pulling out now only accelerates its downward slide towards anarchy. Putting more boots on the ground will make sense only if we double the forces. America's military presence needs to reach critical mass before it can exert absolute control of the security situation. The trick is to decide what that critical mass is in terms of additional deployments. As it is, America wins some battles but is loosing the war. American presence there must be an all or nothing affair. American military presence must be pervasive and aggressive in order to bring about law and order to the devastated country before handling it back to the Iraqis. Perhaps then and only then can America withdraw and salvage some dignity from the most disastrous misadventure of the country's history. Bush is not the man for the job. He does not have the character or the attributes of a genuine leader to finish what he started.

[powersmaker]

BUSHSTINKS1 ...

What ... none of your worthless essay? Come on ... you're fun to poke fun at!!!

[arthurcl1]

All these Rush Limbaugh types dont believe it!
GEORGE W. BUSH JOB HANDLING IRAQ

Now
Approve
21%
Disapprove
75%

Why do you think he lost House and Senate! The Bush Meglamania Cowboy Madness in Iraq is Over! The Party's Over for Lame Duck Bush!

[pudd54]

The 8% that think things are getting better in Iraq watch the news, but only on Fox.

[fascistusa]

Lord Bush is the most dangerous man alive. He MUST be Impeached. Impeach Lord Bush or just accept that America is and will continue to be a FASCIST NATION.

There's plenty of proof Bush/Cheney still want to invade Iran. Just turn on Fox Fascist News. Don't think for a second the Bush/Cheney nightmare will just "go away".

[arthurcl1]

Yes I agree jh6379! He should pay for his war crimes of even outing a CIA Operative last year for speaking out against his Failed Iraq War!

[cbgb31]

If we were having success in Iraq his numbers would be high and nobody would care about invading Iraq.

[arthurcl1]

Opposition to the war is now taking on historic proportions, with 75 percent saying it was "a mistake" to send U.S. troops to Iraq %u2014 slightly more than told a Gallup Poll in 1973 that it was a mistake to send U.S. forces to Vietnam.

[arthurcl1]

Look at Bushes face in the photo above. CBS found one with his "Sad Sap Look", his "I don't know what to do now look", his "I'm a Loser Look".

[atticushutch]

For me, I'm surprised 21% approve of Bush. He is an illiterate idiot who should be impeached for his war crimes alone. Rumsfeld is an idiot. Cheney is an idiot. And anyone is not a ******* knows the first Bush didn't invade Baghdad because Baghdad was a beehive of mess not to be gotten into. What a fool George W. Bush is. He is an idiot.

[atticushutch]

Bush is an illiterate idiot. He can't speak worth a ***, and he speaks to God. What an idiot. Doesn't God know the English language after this many years? Bush is an idiot who can't speak. What a ******* he and Cheney and Rumsfeld are to lead us into this war. As Chappelle said, the US doesn't attack anyone who DOES have Weapons of Mass Destruction. What an idiot Bush is.

[macusweil]

"Let's impeach the president for lying
And leading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door
He's the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors" -Mr. Neil Young

[creeper00]

"Although the wheels are turning slowly, they are turning in the right direction to end US involvement." Post by SHURCH4TRUTH

And how many more Americans will die before the cart reaches its destination?

[arthurcl1]

Look at Bushes face in the photo above. CBS found one with his "Sad Sap Look", his "I don't know what to do now look", his "I'm a Loser Look".
All these Rush Limbaugh types dont believe it!
GEORGE W. BUSH JOB HANDLING IRAQ

Now
Approve
21%
Disapprove
75%

Why do you think he lost House and Senate! The Bush Meglamania Cowboy Madness in Iraq is Over! The Party's Over for Lame Duck Bush.Cheney and America will never vote in another Bush!

[jn122736]

I believe impeachment proceedings right now would be too much of a distraction from finding a solution to Iraq. But I also think Pelosi%u2019s statement that impeachment is not an option is incredibly unwise politically and rationally.

This removes a very important incentive for the president to be cooperative.

She could have qualified her statement by making it subject to change in the future if investigations call for it. To make an arbitrary judgment like that goes against the obvious will of the majority of voters who are looking to the democrats for justice and leadership

[psgoodguy]

YOU: A lot of these postings seem to be filled with anger, meanness and a want for revenge. I don%u2019t blame you for your anger; I have much of it myself. But why be so preoccupied with revenge. If this country were to become preoccupied with an impeachment proceeding than that pretty much guarantees many more Americans would die in Iraq. We would be cutting off our nose to spite our face. Or in other works, sacrificing more American lives to get revenge.

Although the wheels are turning slowly, they are turning in the right direction to end US involvement. It happens that way because this is on the world stage and there are all these issues of not wanting to show weakness and cut and run and bla, bla, bla. My opinion is encourage the process of withdraw asap.
Posted by SHURCH4TRUTH at 09:47 PM : Dec 11, 2006

ME: seeking justice is not the same as revenge. impeaching clinton for a *** was revenge.

[norcalruss]

For the corrupt Bush administration living in a state of denial, it looks like the chickens have finally come home to roost. The outstanding majority of the population has wised up and seen this war for what it is: bloody and expensive, as well as a sham riddled with deceit, incompetence, and hubris. Thank god we have a free press and a separation of powers in this nation. The administration known for a preponderance of lies, spins, and denials must now see clearly the writing on the wall. The American public will no longer walk the plank in support of Bush%u2019s stupidity. Unfortunately the new House speaker has ruled out impeachment and perhaps this is a good argument in favor of giving voters the right to recall someone who is arguably, one of the worst presidents in the nation%u2019s history. At the state level voters can recall a sitting governor, as was done in California. Why not give the same right to voters at the federal level if Congress doesn%u2019t have the stomach for it?

[cbslogin12]

I agree that Bush has done a horrible job handling Iraq. But a poll of about a thousand people does not mean very much. That is a ridiculously tiny percentage of the 300 million people in this country. And I do not trust telephone polls. The people asking the questions are subjective and not all can not be trusted to do an honest job. A poll question asked on a web site is much better if the question and answer choices are written well and if it does not allow anyone to vote twice. The number of participants must be shown too. I've noticed on CBS web site poll questions they do not include the number who voted.

A poll on CNN web site today included over 100,000 people. Now that is impressive. Here are the results as of Monday night, 11p.m.:

Do you believe President Bush will be able to successfully shift the course of the war in Iraq?

Yes

18%
21,431 votes

No

82%
99,371 votes
Total: 120802 votes

[frankly6]

janem4

You reference a poll done by a republican think tank that claims media bias and call it scientific because it agrees with you. But this poll is unscientific? By what measure? Did you check the statistical methods behind the poll? What specificly did you have a problem with?

Also while you are at it answer me this: Do you think it's dishonest and maybe a little nutty to come here and sign up under different names to pretend that more than one person shares your views? Just a hypothetical of course.

[du2vye]

I wonder if the same people arguing against impeachment would argue against it if it were Kerry or Clinton?

[frankly6]

janem4

"CBS is extrememly biased and has done nothing but report anything that would put the present administration in a bad light."

Where can one go to see this administration in a good light? Perhaps in the dark? Or maybe some openly biased conservative talking spin-heads.

[frankly6]

Get ready for the new talking points that will be coming out in January. They'll be blaming the Dems right out the gate for the war being lost.

[arthurcl1]

Oh CBS is biased and put the Administration in a bad light! Boo Hoo. Wake up Rush Limbaughs! That is why Bush LOST THE HOUSE AND SENATE TO THE DEMOCRATES!

[fascistusa]

Oh, man. Have some of you got a LOT to learn.

We DO NOT have a Free Press.

Not even close.

Google "14 points of Fascism".

WAKE UP!!!!

[arthurcl1]

Also the Republicans are so perverse in chasing the pages through the Congress Hallways was another reason the Reblicans Lost! It was the worst lazy Republican Congress Ever! Greenlighting all of Party Bushes Right Wing Agenda to Iraq!