A solid majority of Americans oppose immediately pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, citing as a main reason the desire to finish the job of stabilizing the country, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll found. About 57 percent of those surveyed said the U.S. military should stay until Iraq is stabilized, while 36 percent favor an immediate troop withdrawal. A year ago, 71 percent of respondents favored keeping troops in Iraq until it was stabilized.
In the poll, when people were asked in an open-ended question the main reason the United States should keep troops in Iraq, 32 percent said to stabilize the country and 26 percent said to finish the rebuilding job under way. Only one in 10 said they wanted to stay in Iraq to fight terrorism; just 3 percent said to protect U.S. national security.
The AP-Ipsos poll, conducted Tuesday through Thursday, was based on telephone interviews with 1,006 adults from all states except Alaska and Hawaii and areas heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. |