Little Change in Public Perceptions of U.S. Role in Iraq, According to Latest Harris Interactive Survey
February 25 2004 - 4:51PM
PR Newswire (US)
Little Change in Public Perceptions of U.S. Role in Iraq, According
to Latest Harris Interactive Survey ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 25
/PRNewswire/ -- Public perceptions of the United States' role in
Iraq, of the president's handling of Iraq and the situation on the
ground have not changed much even though (Harris Poll published
February 23rd) fewer people now believe that Iraq had weapons of
mass destruction. The public is still quite equally split on
President Bush's handling of Iraq, with 48% givinghim positive
marks and 51% negative ratings. This is slightly below his ratings
in January, but better than last November and very similar to his
ratings in July and September last year. Other findings and trends
include: * A 52% to 34% majority continues to believe that taking
military action against Iraq was the right thing to do. * A 48% to
31% plurality of all adults are not confident that U.S. policies in
Iraq will be successful. However, this is still a somewhat higher
level of confidence than we found in September and November last
year. * The 49% plurality which believes that the level of U.S.
casualties in Iraq is unacceptable, with 43% believing them to be
"unfortunate but acceptable," shows little change over the last
several months. * The 38% who believe that the situation for U.S.
troops in Iraq is getting worse, and the 22% who believe things are
getting better, with 31% seeing no real change, are also very
similar to the January Harris Poll results. These are the results
of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,204 adults surveyed online by
Harris Interactive(R) between February 16 and 20, 2004. Given the
continuing U.S. and Iraqi casualties, growing doubts about whether
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or had any links to Al Qaeda,
and the difficulties in arranging a transfer of power to a
legitimate Iraqi government, the lack of a clear trend is
intriguing. The steadiness of the results over time suggest that
many people have made up their minds, one way or the other, and
that they are unlikely to change them unless something really
different happens. TABLE 1 RATING OF PRESIDENT BUSH - HANDLING OF
IRAQ "Overall, how wouldyou rate the job President Bush has done in
handling the issue of Iraq over the last several months?" Base: All
Adults 2003 2004 March April MayJuly Sept. Nov. Jan. Now % % % % %
% % % Positive (NET) 56 67 63 49 47 41 51 48 Excellent 29 38 34 21
16 15 20 23 Pretty good 27 29 28 29 31 26 31 26 Negative (NET) 43
32 36 50 51 58 46 51 Only fair 16 15 18 22 19 19 20 19 Poor 27 17
18 28 32 38 26 32 Don't know 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 Note: Percentages may
not add up exactly due to rounding. TABLE 2 CONFIDENT THAT U.S.
POLICIES WILL BE SUCCESSFUL "How confident are you that U.S.
policies in Iraq will be successful?" Base: All Adults 2003 2004
Sept. Nov. Jan. Now % % % % Confident 27 25 31 31 Not confident 46
51 45 48 Not sure 27 24 24 22 Note: Percentages may not add up
exactly due to rounding. TABLE 3 WAS MILITARY ACTION THE RIGHT
THING TO DO? "Thinking about everything that has happened, do you
think that taking military action against Iraq was the right or
wrong thing to do?" Base: All Adults 2003 2004 Sept. Nov. Jan. Now
% % % % Right thing 55 49 55 52 Wrong thing 32 37 31 34 Not sure 13
13 15 14 Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 4 ARE U.S. TROOPS SEEN BY IRAQIS AS LIBERATORS OR OCCUPIERS?
"Do you think most people in Iraq see the U.S. troops there ... ?"
Base: All Adults 2003 2004 May July Sept. Nov. Jan. Now % % % % % %
More as occupiers 40 53 54 54 49 47 More as liberators 36 25 23 25
27 30 Not sure 24 22 23 20 24 23 Note: Percentages may not add up
to 100% due to rounding. TABLE 5 LEVEL OF CASUALTIES ACCEPTABLE OR
NOT? "Do you think that the level of U.S. casualties in Iraq is ...
?" Base: All Adults 2003 2004 July Sept. Nov. Jan. Now % % % % %
Unfortunate but acceptable 51 47 44 44 43 Unacceptable 43 47 51 49
49 Not sure 6 6 5 7 9 Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due
to rounding. TABLE 6 IS SITUATION FOR U.S. TROOPS GETTING BETTER OR
WORSE "Do you think that the situation for U.S. troops in Iraq is
... ?" Base: All Adults Jan. 2004 Now % % Getting better 24 22
Getting worse 36 38 No real change 31 31 Not sure 8 9 Note:
Percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding. Methodology The
Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States
between February 16 and 20, 2004 among a nationwide cross section
of 2,204 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education and number
of adults in the household were weighted where necessary to bring
them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
"Propensity score" weighting was also used to adjust for
respondents' propensity to be online. In theory, with probability
samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that
the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus three
percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult
population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately,
there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or
surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical
calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be
interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order,
and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may
result from these factors. This online survey is not a probability
sample. These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of
the National Council on Public Polls. About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/) is a
worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The
Harris Poll(R), and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct
scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in
Rochester, New York, U.S.A., Harris Interactive combines
proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in
predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts
international research through wholly owned
subsidiaries-London-based HI Europe (http://www.hieurope.com/) and
Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan-as well as through the Harris
Interactive Global Network of local market- and opinion-research
firms, and various U.S. offices. EOE M/F/D/V To become a member of
the Harris Poll Online(SM) and be invited to participate in future
online surveys, visit http://www.harrispollonline.com/. Press
Contact: Nancy Wong Harris Interactive 585-214-7316 DATASOURCE:
Harris Interactive CONTACT: Nancy Wong of Harris Interactive,
+1-585-214-7316, or Web site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
http://www.harrispollonline.com/ http://www.hieurope.com/
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