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The poll shows most Americans remain committed to the mission in Iraq, even as they fret that U.S. involvement might be prolonged. Two in three say U.S. troops should remain in Iraq until civil order is restored there and nearly six in 10 say the war was worth fighting. While that's down from 70 percent at the end of April, it's unchanged since July.
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| Sampling, data collection and tabulation
for this poll were done by TNS Intersearch. |
President Bush's approval rating for handling Iraq is 56 percent, about what it was last month — a postwar low. That's well off Bush's 75 percent approval rating at the end of April, just before he declared an end to hostilities.
Gender Gap
For the first time since the war started, Bush does not have the support of a majority of women for his dealings with Iraq. Forty-eight percent of women approve, compared with 64 percent of men. Last month, 60 percent of men and 55 percent of women approved.
There's also a 12-point gap between men (64 percent) and women (52 percent) on whether the war was worth fighting. In July, the gap was five points.
As noted, Bush's Iraq rating peaked in late April at 75 percent. It bottomed out at 50 percent in mid-January as the United States and the United Nations debated the merits of going to war against Saddam Hussein's regime.
Nonwhites are among the least likely to support Bush's handling of Iraq. Only 34 percent approve, compared with 63 percent of whites. Also, fewer than half of senior citizens approve of his handling of the situation.
Worth Fighting?
After weighing the costs and benefits to the United States, 57 percent of Americans say the war with Iraq was worth fighting and 38 percent say it wasn't.
Again, older Americans and nonwhites are less likely to say the war was worth the cost. Only 45 percent of senior citizens say so, compared with six in 10 of those younger than 65.
Stay the Course
Three in four are concerned that the United States will become "bogged down in a long and costly peacekeeping mission," including 41 percent who are very concerned. One-third of men and nearly half of women are in that category.
Still, 69 percent say U.S. forces should remain in Iraq until civil order is restored. Last month, 72 percent said that. Twenty-seven percent say the United States should withdraw forces to prevent further casualties, essentially the same as last month.
Party Views
While there is, as expected, a huge partisan divide, Bush and the war effort still win the backing of a majority of independents, the key group in most elections. Fifty-three percent of them approve of Bush's handling of Iraq, compared with 87 percent of Republicans and only 31 percent of Democrats.
The same percentage of independents say they war was worth fighting, along with 85 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats. Majorities of all three party groups say U.S. troops should stay in Iraq until civil order is restored.
Methodology
This ABCNEWS poll was conducted by telephone Aug. 20-24 among a random national sample of 1,024 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation were done by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.
Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.
See the full questions and results.
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