Gallup Finds 53% Feel Iraq War Not Worth It; Will Media Probe Why?

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By: Greg Mitchell With the conflict in Iraq seemingly stabilizing, a new government elected and American deaths declining, media coverage has dropped considerably. Perhaps that is partly based on feeling the public now has a more favorable view of U.S. involvement there. But a new Gallup poll, released Wednesday, firmly disputes that.

It found that only 45% of all Americans now feel the Iraq invasion was ?worth it,? with 53% saying it wasn't.

Yet there has been very little press coverage of why, in light of some positive developments in Iraq, this is true.

Gallup reported: ?Levels of support vary by political party, race, and age. Democrats are much less likely than Republicans to say it was worth going to war in Iraq. Nearly 8 in 10 Republicans, 79%, say it was worth going to war, while just 19% say it was not worth it. Among Democrats, only 17% say it was worth it and 82% say it was not. The divide among political independents is not as wide: a third, 36%, say it was worth going to war, while 61% say it was not.?

Other breakdowns: Whites say it was worth it by a 50%-to-48% margin, while non-whites rate it 26% OK and 72% not. The youngest segment polled, and the oldest, were most opposed. A majority of 18- to 29-year-olds, and a majority of Americans aged 65 and older, think it was not worth going to war. Americans between the ages of 30 and 64 are more evenly split.

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