Poll finds support for war
March 17
A year after the beginning of the war, most Americans think things are going well in Iraq and believe the situation there was worth going to war over, according to the results of a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
More Americans also believe that the war made the United States safer from terrorism than believe going into Iraq increased the terrorism threat, but they are pessimistic about what might happen in Iraq once U.S. troops leave, the poll found.
Asked how they thought things were going in Iraq, 55 percent said either very well or moderately well, compared to 43 percent who said either very badly or moderately badly.
On the question of whether the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, 55 percent said it was, compared to 43 percent who said it wasn't.
And asked whether the war in Iraq has made the United States safer from terrorism, 50 percent said it has, while 37 percent said the country is less safe because of the war. Ten percent thought there was no change.
Poll respondents were also asked whether, when U.S. troops leave, the situation in Iraq will turn into chaos and civil war or if the Iraqi people will be able to establish a stable government.
Forty-five percent said they thought a stable government would emerge -- but 48 percent saw chaos ahead.
The poll also found that Americans' optimism about the situation in Iraq has increased.
At the end of January, the country was evenly split -- 49 percent to 49 percent -- over whether the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over. In the latest poll, there was a 12-point gap in support of the war decision.
In early November, amid nearly daily fatalities among U.S. troops, just 38 percent thought things in Iraq were going very or moderately well, while 61 percent thought they were going very or moderately badly. Since then, the poll showed a 17-point shift to the side of optimism.
The margin of error in the poll was plus or minus 3 percentage points......
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