New Iraq poll: US seen as occupier, not liberator

US soldiers are seen as 'uncaring, dangerous and lacking in respect.'

71 percent (and that figure rises to 81 percent if the Kurdish areas in the north are excluded), now see the US-led coalition as an occupying force and not as liberators. USA Today reports that a solid majority, almost 60 percent, want the US and its allies to leave immediately, even if it means the security situation will deteriorate.

US troops also took a hit in the survey. They are seen by most Iraqis as "uncaring, dangerous and lacking in respect for the country's people, religion and traditions."

"One specific Iraqi complaint against US troops is the widespread perception – whether correct or incorrect – that they have been indiscriminate in their use of force when civilians are nearby," said Gallup's director of international polling, Richard Burkholder.

Except for the Kurds in the north, two-thirds of Iraqis say that US troops "make no attempt to keep ordinary Iraqis from being killed or wounded during exchanges of gunfire," while 60 percent say the troops conducted themselves "badly or very badly."

The Guardian reports that one reason that British commanders, for instance, have refrained from sending more troops to Iraq, especially following the withdrawal of troops from Spain, is that they are wary of "getting sucked into operations determined by heavy-handed American tactics."

More than 50 percent of those surveyed in the Gallup poll said attacks on US troops were "justified" or "sometimes justified," while only a quarter said they were never justified.

The Gallup poll also showed that Iraqis remain optimistic about the future, even if they are copncerned about the present. CNN reports that Iraqis signaled a strong desire to have a democracy, and said that they supported the idea of a transition to an elected government of the kind being advocated by UN special envoy Lakdar Barahimi. Sixty-one precent also said getting rid of Saddam Hussein was worth any hardship.

el - Why can't we declare victory, we got rid of Saddam for you, we are going to give you a democratic government, and then we are going home.

Finally, a new poll conducted by CBS News and The New York Times shows that American support for the war in Iraq has "eroded substantially" over the past few months and that Americans increasingly don't like the way President Bush is handling the conflict.

Asked whether the United States had done the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, 47 percent of respondents said it had, down from 58 percent a month earlier and 63 percent in December, just after American forces captured Saddam Hussein. Forty-six percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, up from 37 percent last month and 31 percent in December.