The Iraq war in polls in over 4 years!!!

The Iraq War in Polls Over 4 Years By Marjorie Connelly In the four years since the start of the war in Iraq, the American public has grown more and more critical, and now they describe the war as going badly and believe the United States should have stayed out of Iraq in the first place. In a nationwide New York Times/CBS News poll conducted about two months after the start of the war, 72 percent of those surveyed described the United States’ efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq as going well. At that time, only 24 percent said things were going badly. Since then, attitudes have become more negative, and are now almost reversed. In the latest Times/CBS News poll, taken earlier this month, 69 percent of the public said things were going badly for the United States in Iraq, and only 29 percent said things were going well. About nine months after the start of the war, 64 percent told The Times and CBS News that the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq while 28 percent said the United States should have stayed out. In the latest poll, only 39 percent said it was the right thing and 56 percent said the United States should have stayed out. Twenty-eight percent would like to see the number of troops in Iraq decreased and another 28 percent would prefer the troops be withdrawn altogether. An increase in troop strength is favored by 22 percent, while 17 percent are inclined to keep the number of troops in Iraq the same. Fifty-two percent want the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal, while 43 percent said there should not be a timetable. In July 2005, more than two years after the start of the war, 62 percent said the United States was at least somewhat likely to succeed in Iraq, while 35 percent were less confident. That optimism for the outcome has deteriorated, and now 45 percent expect the war to end in success and 53 percent consider that unlikely. The latest Times/CBS News poll was conducted March 7 to 11 by telephone with 1,362 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Complete results are available at www.nytimes.com/polls.