LATEST GALLUP IRAQ POLL: MOST AMERICANS AGAINST IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL
Only 18 percent want immediate withdrawal from Iraq; Poll shows ‘a much more positive balance of opinion about the U.S. troop surge’
—Another in a series of ‘Glass-Half-Full’ Analyses—
While most respondents in the Gallup poll released today (and other recent polls) favor a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, a closer look at the numbers is warranted. Among those who support withdrawal, a two-to-one majority wants a gradual and orderly return for the troops. This is consistent with other recent polling on the question of immediate withdrawal from Iraq. In today’s poll only 18 percent favored withdrawing troops “as soon as possible,” while the Pew poll released at the end of February showed a similar minority—14 percent—supported immediate withdrawal.
On the other hand, twice as many respondents (35 percent) favored maintaining troops in Iraq until the situation improves. Forty-one percent favored a “gradual withdrawal.”
Forty percent of respondents said the troop surge is having a positive effect in Iraq while only 20 percent said the surge was making things worse (roughly the same percentage that want immediate withdrawal). Another 38 percent did not see a significant change.
“This is a much more positive balance of opinion about the U.S. troop surge than Gallup found in July 2007, when as many Americans thought it was making matters worse as said it was improving things.”
About the poll: “Results are based on telephone interviews with 2,021 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 21-24, 2008. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points. Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.”
