War in Iraq

54% Say US Troop Withdrawal Will Make Things Worse in Iraq

Survey of 2,000 Adults

September 22-25, 2005

If the United States withdraws all of its troops from Iraq, will that make things better or worse in Iraq?
Better	20%
Worse	54%
No Impact	14%
RasmussenReports.com

September 26, 2005--Most Americans (54%) believe that withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq will make things worse in that troubled nation. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 20% disagree and say that troop withdrawal will make things better. These numbers are identical to the results of our August survey.

Republicans, by a 78% to 10% margin, say that withdrawing troops from Iraq would make things worse in that county. Democrats are evenly divided on the question, with 30% of Harry Reid's party saying the troop withdrawal would make things better and 33% taking the opposite view.

As for those not affiliated with either major party, 49% say withdrawing troops now would make the situation worse. Twenty percent (20%) of unaffiliateds say bringing U.S. troops home would improve the situation in Iraq.

A measure of the country's polarization concerning Iraq is that Republicans overwhelmingly view the U.S. troops as a liberating army. Democrats, by a 2-to-1 margin, see the U.S. forces as an occupying army. Unaffiliateds are evenly divided.

Overall, 35% say that the U.S. forces in Iraq are an occupying force. Forty-four percent (44%) view them as a liberating force.

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Forty-seven percent (47%) of Americans say that it is more important to get U.S. troops home than to "insure that Iraq becomes a peaceful nation enjoying the benefits of freedom and democracy." Forty-three percent (43%) view finishing the mission as more important than bringing home the troops.

On this question, there is a significant gender gap. By a 50% to 42% margin, men say that finishing the mission is more important. By a 51% to 38% margin, women say bringing the troops home is more important.

Forty-three percent (43%) of Americans say that the War in Iraq is part of the War on Terror. Forty percent (40%) take the opposite view and say Iraq is a distraction from the War on Terror.

A related survey found that 40% of Americans believe the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Thirty-six percent (36%) believe the terrorists are winning.

Cindy Sheehan, a featured speaker at Saturday's anti-War protests in Washington, is viewed favorably by 31% of Americans.

Demographic details available for Premium Members.

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Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

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The telephone survey of 2,000 Adults was conducted by Rasmussen Reports September 22-25, 2005. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. 37% of survey respondents were Republican, 37% Democrat, and 26% unaffiliated (see Methodology)