Iraqis want coalition forces out of country

WASHINGTON – Despite concerns about their own safety, the majority of Iraqis say they want the U.S. and British troops now in Iraq to leave within the next few months, according to a nationwide poll of people in Iraq.

“There’s a sense of disillusionment,” Gallup’s director of international polling, Richard Burkholder, said Thursday. “They had higher expectations of us. If we can sweep their army aside in a matter of weeks, why can’t we stabilize their country? We’re a victim of their high expectations.”

Seven in 10 said their lives or the lives of their family would be in danger if they were seen to be cooperating with the Coalition Provisional Authority currently governing Iraq. Almost two-thirds, 64 percent, said actions by the coalition have turned out worse than they expected at the time of the invasion.

The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll was taken between March 22 and April 9, before the latest rounds of fighting between coalition forces and insurgents. A relatively small number of the 3,444 face-to-face interviews were conducted more recently.

Almost six in 10, 57 percent, said they would like to see coalition troops leave “immediately, within the next few months,” while 36 percent said they would like to see those troops stay longer.

Despite the reservations, Iraqis have mixed feelings about the effects of the U.S.-led invasion.

  • Six in 10 say ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the hardships they have faced since then.

  • Half said they are better off since Hussein was ousted, while 25 percent said they are doing about the same.

    Burkholder said the trend in Baghdad, where Gallup polled last August and September, reflects a drop in attitudes about U.S. troops.

    Last August, almost six in 10 Iraqis said they had a positive view of how U.S. troops are behaving. Now, residents of Baghdad view U.S. soldiers negatively, by almost 8-1.

    Only a quarter of Iraqis said attacks on U.S. troops are completely unjustified. Less than a third of Iraqis said the attacks are completely or somewhat justified from a moral standpoint. Another one in five said those attacks are sometimes justified.

    Seven in 10 in the poll said they view the U.S. presence as an occupation and not a liberation.

    Copyright ©2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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