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Support for Bush over Iraq, but also for UN Role

June 10 2003

Harris Poll results for May show that US support for President Bush's handling of Iraq is still high - four points down on April's 67% high but 7% ahead of the rating in March when the war was underway. However, more people would prefer the U.N. to take the lead in the rebuilding of Iraq than the United States, and 80% believe more generally that it is important to involve a broad coalition of countries in the process.

These are two of the results of a Harris Poll of nearly 3,500 adults surveyed online between May 19 and 27, 2003.

Other interesting findings in this survey include:

  • 1 in 7 Americans think the government should be prepared to keep large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq for 5 years or more if required, but the majority suggest times of 2 years or less.
  • The public is divided as to how Iraqis perceive U.S. troops. Forty percent of adults think that they see U.S. troops more as occupiers while almost as many, 36% think they perceive them more as liberators.
  • The public is also divided as to whether or not U.S. troops should stay in Iraq against the occupied country's wishes. 45% think that they should stay whether or not most Iraqis want them there, but an almost equal number (43%) think that troops should either leave right away (12%) or only stay if most Iraqis want them to do so (31%).
  • If the public perceives a disagreement between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on rebuilding Iraq, (a) 55% say they would trust Powell more and only 10% Rumsfeld. The remaining 35% see no difference or are not sure.

Perhaps predictably there are major differences between the views of Republicans and Democrats on these issues. For example, fully 64% of Democrats (and 53% of Independents) want the U.N. to lead the rebuilding of Iraq whereas only 29% of Republicans do so. Almost two-thirds of Democrats (65%) but only just over a third of Republicans (37%) think that it is very important to involve a broad coalition of different countries in Iraq. Furthermore, a 55% to 25% majority of Republicans think that U.S. troops are seen as liberators whereas a 53% to 25% majority of Democrats, and most Independents, think that Iraqis see U.S. troops more as occupiers. 61% of Republicans think that U.S. troops should stay in Iraq whether or not Iraqis want them there, but only 36% of Democrats feel this way.

The Harris Poll(r) was conducted online within the United States between May 19 and 27, 2003 among a nationwide cross section of 3,462 adults. Further information and tables are available at www.harrispollonline.com


All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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