four out of five Iraqis in Baghdad want US soldiers to stay

Majority of Baghdadis want US to stay
Posted Thu, 19 Jun 2003

More than four out of five Iraqis in Baghdad want US soldiers to remain in the capital until at least an interim Iraqi government has been formed, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.

The survey, carried out by the Iraqi Centre for Research and Strategic Studies, found broad support for the presence of US troops in Iraq, despite angry and violent demonstrations suggesting the contrary.

In the first such independent survey since the end of the war that brought down Saddam Hussein in April, the poll found that just over half of those questioned were in favour of troops remaining in Iraq until a permanent Iraqi government has been formed.

In addition, over 25 percent said they wanted a continued US military presence until an interim Iraqi authority has been set up and just over five percent wanted to see troops on the streets for a further two years.

US authorities have said an Iraqi government is not expected until general elections due to be held in one or two years, while an interim authority is scheduled to be set up in mid-July.

Fewer than one in 20 of those questioned wanted to see troops leave immediately.

"The desire to see a prolonged coalition military presence can be explained by the political vacuum in Iraq," said Ahmad Qassab, head of the research institute.

"This is shown by the fact that 85 percent of those questioned said that political parties, which have increased in number recently, do not reflect the hopes and opinions of the people."

Over 90 percent of those polled said the United States had totally failed in its efforts to restore services to the battered capital, while only one in 100 judged the US record on reconstruction as "good".

Three quarters also suggested that US forces had failed to ensure security in the country.

The poll was carried out between June 8 and 10 and questioned 1100 people.


AFP