Record number of Americans pessimistic about Iraq war: Poll

NEW YORK: Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the invasion more than four years ago, according to a new poll.

Sixty-one percent of Americans say the United States should have stayed out of Iraq and 76 percent say things are going badly there, including 47 percent who say things are going very badly, the New York Times/CBS news poll said.

Still, the majority of Americans support continuing to finance the war as long as the Iraqi government meets specific goals.

 President George W Bush's approval ratings remain near the lowest of his more than six years in office. Thirty percent approve of the job he is doing over all, while 63 percent disapprove, the poll found.

As for Bush, 23 percent approve of his handling of the situation in Iraq, 72 percent disapprove; 25 percent approve of his handling of foreign policy, 65 percent disapprove, and 27 percent approve of his handling of immigration issues, while 60 percent disapprove.

On the economy, 36 percent approve of his handling of the issue, and 56 percent disapprove. In the campaign against terrorism, 42 percent approve, and 52 per cent disapprove.

More Americans, 72 percent, now say that generally things in the country are seriously off on the wrong track than at any other time since the Times/CBS News poll began asking the question in 1983.

The number has slowly risen since January 2004. Then, 53 percent said the country was 'seriously off on the wrong track, and by January of this year it was 68 percent, the 'New York Times' reported.

Public support for the war, the poll said, has eroded. In January 2003, 64 percent of Americans said the United States did the right thing in taking military action in Iraq and 28 percent said the United States should have stayed out.

The current numbers are nearly reversed, with 35 percent saying the United states did the right thing and 61 percent saying the country should have stayed out.

In January of this year, 58 percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq and 38 percent said going in was the right thing.

The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Friday through Wednesday with 1,125 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Most Americans support a timetable for withdrawal. Sixty-three percent say the United States should set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq sometime in 2008.

While troops are still in Iraq, Americans overwhelming support continuing to finance the war, though most want to do so with conditions. Thirteen percent want Congress to block all money for the war.

The poll found Americans are more likely to trust the Democratic Party than the Republican Party to make the right decisions about the war in Iraq. Slightly more than half of those polled, 51 percent, said the Democratic Party was more likely than the Republican Party to make the right decisions about the war.

More broadly, 53 percent of those polled say they have a favourable opinion of the Democratic Party, while 38 percent have a favourable view of the Republican Party. The Republican Party has not had a majority positive rating in Times/CBS News polls since December 2003.