Most People Want Troops Out of Iraq: Global Poll

Most People Want Troops Out of Iraq: Global Poll

LONDON - Two-thirds of people questioned around the world want US-led troops to pull out of Iraq within a year, but fewer than half believe that they will ever leave, according to a poll published Friday.

In the BBC World Service poll of 23,000 people in 22 countries, 67 percent said they backed a troop withdrawal inside a year, while 49 percent believed the United States would permanently leave troops in the country.0907 05

Three in five Americans polled — 61 percent — thought US forces should leave within a year, with 24 percent favouring immediate withdrawal. Thirty-two percent said they should stay until security improves.

In some of the countries in the US-led coalition a majority supported a pullout within a year — 65 percent of Britons, 63 percent of South Koreans and 63 percent of Australians.

In only three countries was there less than a majority for such a withdrawal — 17 percent of Indians, 44 percent of Filipinos and 45 percent of Kenyans.

Overall only one in four — 23 percent — thought foreign troops should remain in Iraq until security improves, according to the global survey carried out for the BBC by polling firm GlobeScan, together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland in the United States.

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/07/3695/