Poll: Iraqis do not trust U.S. occupation forces

With U.S. public opinion turning increasingly against the Iraq War, a new poll showed on Monday that four in five Iraqis have little or no confidence in the U.S.-led occupation forces.

The poll of more than 2,000 people, carried out by the BBC, ABC News, ARD and USA Today, found that 69 percent of Iraqis believe that the presence of foreign forces in their country is making security worse.<>

Only 18 percent of Iraqis have confidence in the U.S.-led occupation forces, the survey showed, and 51 percent think that the attacks on foreign forces are justified.

The survey indicated sharp geographical variations. For example, all those polled in Baghdad, where a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation was launched last month, believe that occupation forces had done a bad job and oppose the presence of foreign troops in their country.

However, only 35 percent of all Iraqis and 36 percent in Baghdad said occupation forces should leave Iraq now. About 45 percent of Baghdad residents and 38 percent of all Iraqis said foreign troops should stay “until security is restored.” 

Pessimistic

The poll also showed that the Iraqis are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country and unhappy about their lives – findings that contrast sharply with those of a similar survey carried out in 2005.

Asked whether their lives were better or worse than before the 2003 invasion, less than 40 percent said the situation in Iraqi was better than before the war began, compared to 71 percent two years ago.

50 percent said their lives are now worse.

The survey also found that only 35 percent of Iraqis expect improvements the coming year, compared to 64 percent in the 2005 poll.

Asked whether they thought reconstruction efforts in Iraq had been effective, some 67% said they felt they had not.

Many also said that the quality of their lives was deteriorating, with 80 percent saying electricity and fuel supplies were poor.

The poll also showed that security is a major concern in Iraq, with only 26 percent saying they felt safe in their own neighborhoods.

More than half of those polled said that they don’t go to markets or crowded areas and often stay at home to avoid trouble.

Many also said that they stopped their children from going to school.

Ethnic differences

The survey indicated sharp differences between the views of Iraq’s Shias and Sunnis, with the latter more pessimistic.

But despite their differences and the daily violence in their country, the majority of those questioned said they didn’t believe that Iraq was in a state of civil war.

58 percent also said they wanted Iraq to remain a unified country. Almost all said they did not want their country to be broken up along sectarian lines.

The poll also showed that ethnic differences were particularly evident in attitudes towards the execution of Saddam Hussein. More than 95 percent Sunnis said they viewed the manner of his death as inappropriate, while 82 percent of Shias said it was appropriate.

But 62 percent Shias and Sunnis thought that Saddam’s execution would lead to reconciliation.

The poll was released one day before the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, which was marked by anti-war protests around the world over the weekend.

In Iraq, violence continued to claim the lives of more civilians, with a series of bomb attacks killing at least 14 people and wounding 39 others in the northern city of Kirkuk, about 290 miles north of Baghdad.

A Kirkuk police commander, Brigadier Tarhan, told the BBC that four car bombs and four roadside bombs had been detonated across the city between 1330 and 1400 local time (1030-1100 GMT).

The oil-rich city is a volatile mix of Shia, Sunni Arabs, ethnic Kurds and Turkmen, and has seen several attacks in recent years.

Earlier Monday, police said a bomb exploded near a Shia mosque in central Baghdad, killing more than five people and wounding 25 others. (alj/dar)