At first blush, the public is cool to the idea. In an ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll, just 39 percent say the United States should allow such a government to be established, while 47 percent say not. But if it were to win an open, democratic election, half of opponents switch sides, and support jumps to 62 percent.
Click here for chart, below.
But such support is conditional in another sense: Six in 10 Americans oppose allowing the creation of fundamentalist government if it were to demand that all U.S. forces leave Iraq.
While the Bush administration has said Iraq would be able to establish a government of its own choosing, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said last week, "an Iranian-type government with a few clerics running everything … isn't going to happen."
Safer?
On the postwar home front, Americans are twice as apt to say the war has left them feeling safer, rather than less safe, from terrorism, 36 percent to16 percent. But a plurality, 47 percent, says the war hasn't affected their sense of threat from terrorist attack.
Click here for chart, below.
These views are tied to political partisanship and support for Bush. Republicans, conservatives and people who approve of Bush's work are more likely to say the war's made them feel safer; Democrats, liberals and Bush disapprovers are more apt to say otherwise. Feelings of safety also are higher among older Americans, and lower among blacks, who tend to be Democrats.
Bush
All told, Bush wins broad approval for his handling of the situation in Iraq — 75 percent, up six points since last month to his best rating on the issue to date. Again, Bush's rating is highly partisan, ranging from 93 percent among Republicans to 76 percent among independents and 57 percent among Democrats.
Bush's rating for dealing with Iraq, while high, is well below his father's comparable rating, 94 percent approval just after the Persian Gulf War in 1991. And this Bush's ratings pale by other comparisons: Seventy percent say the war with Iraq was worth fighting, compared to 86 percent just after the Gulf War. Forty-three percent say the war has increased their confidence in Bush's ability to handle other issues; 70 percent said so about his father in 1991. And 37 percent say the war has made them more likely to support Bush's re-election; in March 1991, 55 percent said so — not that it turned out that way, 20 months later.
Fundamentalist Islamic Government in Iraq? |
| | YES | NO |
| Should the U.S. allow the establishment of such a gov't? | 39% | 47% |
What if it's democratically elected? | 62% | 21% |
| What if the gov't demands the removal of U.S. forces? | 23% | 61% |
| |
Percentage of Groups Who Feel Safer Since the War |
| All |
36% |
| Democrats |
26% |
| Independents |
36% |
| Republicans |
47% |
| Age 18-30 |
27% |
| Age 31-44 |
33% |
| Age 45+ |
42% |
| Whites |
39% |
| Blacks |
21% |
| Approve of Bush |
44% |
| Disapprove of Bush |
15% | | |
Methodology
This ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone April 27-30 among a random national sample of 1,105 adults, including an oversample of blacks (for a total of 169). The results have a three-point error margin. Fieldwork was conducted by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.
Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.
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