US surge 'failure' says Iraq poll

BBC

Most Iraqis think the US troop surge of the past six months has been a failure, a nationwide opinion poll suggests.

Most said the surge in and around Baghdad had made conditions much worse.

The number wanting coalition forces to leave now has risen since a poll in February, but more than half said they should stay until security improved.

More than 2,000 Iraqis were questioned in more than 450 neighbourhoods across all 18 provinces last month, in a survey for the BBC, ABC News and NHK.

Pessimistic

Those polled were asked whether the increase of US forces in Baghdad and the surrounding areas had improved or worsened security, the pace of reconstruction, the conditions for political dialogue and the possibilities of economic development.

By large majorities in each case, they said the situation had worsened.

The surge was designed to allow space for political reconciliation, but only a small minority of those polled said they believed it had created conditions for political dialogue.

In general, the poll shows that people feel more pessimistic than they did six months ago about their everyday lives and about the prospects for improvement in the medium and long term.

A large majority say access to daily necessities such as electricity, clean water and fuel is very bad.

The poll was conducted for the BBC, ABC News of America and NHK of Japan by D3 Systems and KA Research Ltd.

It took place between 17 and 24 August and has a margin of error of + or - 2.5%.

This is the fourth such poll in which BBC News has been involved.

The previous ones were conducted in February 2004, November 2005 and February 2007.

The new poll was commissioned with the specific purpose of assessing the effects of the US security surge over the past six months as well as tracking longer term trends in Iraq.

It is released on the day the US commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus and the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, are due to give Congress their assessment of the effects of the surge and the current situation in Iraq.

Iraq poll September 2007: In graphics