Polls in Iraq Show Vast Majority Want U.S. Out Now

By: E&P Staff and The Associated Press A clear majority of Iraqis want U.S. military forces to leave the country -- immediately -- because they believe their rapid departure would make Iraq more secure and decrease sectarian violence, according to new polls by the State Department and independent researchers.

The Washington Post analyzed the results on Wednesday.

In Baghdad, the paper revealed, "nearly three-quarters of residents polled said they would feel safer if U.S. and other foreign forces left Iraq, with 65 percent of those asked favoring an immediate pullout, according to State Department polling results obtained by The Washington Post.

"Another new poll released on Wednesday by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, found that 71 percent of Iraqis questioned want the Iraqi government to ask foreign forces to depart within a year. By large margins, though, Iraqis believed that the U.S. government would refuse the request, with 77 percent of those polled saying the United States intends keep permanent military bases in the country."

Majorities in all regions except Kurdish areas state that the Multi-National Force-Iraq should withdraw immediately, concludes the 20-page State Department report, titled
"Iraq Civil War Fears Remain High in Sunni and Mixed Areas," according to the Post. The report was based on 1,870 face-to-face interviews conducted from late June to early July.

About six in 10 Iraqis say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces, and Iraqis also have negative views of Osama bin Laden, according to the Maryland program's September poll of 1,150.

It also found:

--Almost four in five Iraqis say the U.S. military force in Iraq provokes more violence than it prevents.

-- About 61 percent approved of the attacks on the U.S. ? up from 47 percent in January. A solid majority of Shiite and Sunni Arabs approved of the attacks, according to the poll. The increase came mostly among Shiite Iraqis.

Last week, Iraqi President Jalal Talibani told the United Nations that coalition forces should remain in Iraq until Iraqi security forces are "capable of putting an end to terrorism and maintaining stability and security."