New poll on Iraq evokes Vietnam
Americans see no easy exit from Iraq: Just 9% expect the war to end in clear-cut victory, compared with 87% who expect some sort of compromise settlement, according to the latest AP-Ipsos poll.
The numbers evoke parallels to public opinion about the war in Vietnam four decades ago. In December 1965, when the American side of the war still had eight years to run, a Gallup survey found that 7% believed it would end in victory.
Dissatisfaction with President Bush’s handling of Iraq has climbed to an all-time high of 71%, according to the AP-Ipsos survey, which was taken as a bipartisan commission was releasing its recommendations.
Some 27% of Americans approved of Bush’s handling of Iraq, down from his previous low of 31% in November.
Pessimism about Iraq is mounting, according to the poll. Some 63% of Americans said they don’t expect a stable, democratic government to be established, up from 54% who felt that way in June.
The survey of 1,000 Americans, taken Monday through Wednesday, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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