Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs: Policy

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Research & Outreach > Center for the Study of Politics and Governance > Elections Projects > Polling Archives > Minnesota Poll Archive

Policy

Untitled Document

War in Iraq

* Assessment and Impact of War

* Withdrawal of Troops

* Iraqi Government

* Bush Administration Handling of War

* Decision to Go to War

* Evidence for War

* Authorization for War

* War Protests

* Saddam Hussein

Assessment and Impact of War

"How well would you say things are going for the United States in its effort to bring stability and order to Iraq? Would you say things are going very well, moderately well, somewhat badly or very badly for the U.S.?"

Date	Very well	Moderately well	Somewhat badly	Very badly	No opinion	Sample	MoE
October 6-11, 2006	4%	24%	21%	49%	2%	818 LV	± 3.4
January 23-26, 2005	5%	34%	23%	35%	3%	832	± 3.4
July 19-24, 2004	6%	34%	32%	25%	3%	1030	± 3.0
Dec. 16-18, 2003	13%	51%	23%	11%	2%	737	± 3.6
September 2-8, 2003	4%	43%	28%	21%	4%	817	± 3.4

"Given the loss of life and other costs, do you think the war (is likely to be worth the cost/was worth it/has been worth it), or not?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
September 7-13, 2004	40%	50%	10%	1035 LV	± 3.0
December 16-18, 2003	49%	43%	8%	737	± 3.6
September 2-8, 2003	50%	44%	6%	817	± 3.4
April 25-29, 2003	61%	29%	10%	1033	± 3.0
March 25-26, 2003	58%	34%	8%	831	± 3.4

"Would you say the Iraq war is going better for the U.S. and its allies than you expected it would, about the same as you expected, or worse than you expected?"

Date	Better	About the same	Worse	No opinion	Sample	MoE
March 25-26, 2003	11%	63%	19%	7%	831	± 3.4

"Do you think the war in Iraq (will/has) strongly help(ed), somewhat help(ed), somewhat hurt, or strongly hurt the United States' standing in the rest of the world?"

Date	Strongly Help	Somewhat Help	Somewhat Hurt	Strongly Hurt	No effect (vol.)	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Sept. 2-8, 2003	8%	19%	39%	28%	2%	4%	817	± 3.4
March 25-26, 2003	11%	27%	31%	19%	4%	8%	831	± 3.4

"How worried are you that a possible war with Iraq might lead to an all out war in the Middle East? Would you say you are very worried, somewhat, not very or not at all worried?"

Date	Very worried	Somewhat worried	Not very worried	Not at all worried	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Dec. 17-22, 2002	34%	41%	15%	9%	1%	1003	± 3.1

Withdrawal of Troops

"Do you think …
A) The United States should withdraw its military forces from Iraq now that Saddam has been captured, OR
B) The United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until a stable government is in place?"

Date	Withdraw now	Keep in Iraq	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 16-18, 2003	16%	80%	4%	737	± 3.6

"Now that U.S. and allied troops are actually fighting in Iraq, which comes closest to your opinion ... They should leave now because they shouldn't be there anyway, they should stay only until Saddam Hussein's government is overthrown, they should stay as long as it takes for Iraq to form a democratic government."

Date	Leave now	Stay until Saddam overthrown	Stay as long as it takes	No opinion	Sample	MoE
March 25-26, 2003	6%	28%	63%	3%	831	± 3.4

"Please tell me if you think it is necessary or not necessary for the allied forces to achieve each of the following for you to consider the war a victory?"

Achievement	Yes	No	No opinion
Keeping U.S. troops loss of life to a minimum	94%	3%	3%
The removal of the current Iraqi government	90%	6%	4%
Finding and seizing Iraqi weapons of mass destruction	90%	6%	4%
Avoiding a large number of Iraqi civilian casualties	86%	10%	4%
Keeping the Iraqi oil fields mainly intact	82%	13%	5%
Capturing or killing Saddam Hussein	81%	14%	5%

Poll date: March 25-26, 2003
Sample: 831
MoE: ± 3.4

"Now that the allied forces have taken military action against Iraq, do you think the fighting will continue for just a few more days, a matter of weeks, several months, or a year or more?"

Date	Days	Weeks	Months	Year or more	No opinion	Sample	MoE
March 25-26, 2003	1%	27%	49%	13%	10%	831	± 3.4

Iraqi Government

"How likely is it that the United States will be able to establish a stable, democratic government in Iraq within the next few years?"

Date	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Somewhat unlikely	Very unlikely	No opinion	Sample	MoE
January 23-26, 2005	10%	30%	25%	30%	5%	832	± 3.4

"Iraq is scheduled to hold a general election for prime minister and parliament January 30th. Do you think it will be possible for Iraq to have a fair election."

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
January 23-26, 2005	33%	56%	11%	832	± 3.4

"In your opinion, how likely is it that Iraqis in general will accept this new government as legitimate? Do you think it is…"

Date	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Somewhat unlikely	Very unlikely	No opinion	Sample	MoE
January 23-26, 2005	7%	35%	30%	22%	6%	832	± 3.4

Bush Administration Handling of War

"Do you think the Bush administration does or does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq?"

Date	Does	Does not	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 16-18, 2003	48%	45%	7%	737	± 3.6
September 2-8, 2003	36%	58%	6%	817	± 3.4

"Do you think the Bush administration deliberately misled the American public about the evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in order to build support for the war?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
September 2-8, 2003	46%	48%	6%	817	± 3.4

Decision to Go to War

"Do you think the U.S. and its allies did the right thing in starting military action against Iraq, or should they have waited longer for diplomatic and economic sanctions to work?"

Date	Did right thing	Should have waited	Should never have gone (vol.)	No opinion	Sample	MoE
April 25-29, 2003	64%	30%	2%	4%	1033	± 3.0
March 25-26, 2003	61%	33%	0%	6%	831	± 3.4

"Do you think the U.S. should or should not use military action to attempt to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq (as part of the war against terrorism)?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
February 20-23, 2003	55%	38%	7%	845	± 3.4
December 17-22, 2002#	53%	37%	10%	1003	± 3.1
August 20-25, 2002	54%	32%	14%	819	± 3.4

# December 2002 poll included the phrase, "as part of the war against terrorism."

"Should the U.S. concentrate more on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq or finding Osama bin Laden and destroying his Al-Quida terrorist network?"

Date	Remove Saddam	Find bin Laden	Both (vol.)	Neither (vol.)	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 17-22, 2002	18%	38%	30%	6%	8%	1003	± 3.1

Evidence for War

"Do you think that it is very likely, somewhat likely, or not too likely or not at all likely that the U.S. will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?"

Date	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Not too likely	Not at all likely	No opinion	Sample	MoE
September 2-8, 2003	15%	34%	26%	20%	5%	817	± 3.4
April 25-29, 2003	37%	35%	17%	6%	5%	1033	± 3.0

"Do you think the United States has (provided) enough proof to warrant using military force against Iraq?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
February 20-23, 2003	49%	43%	8%	845	± 3.4
December 17-22, 2002 #	44%	36%	20%	1003	± 3.1

# In December 2002, the question did not include the word "provided."

Authorization for War

"Do you think the United States and its allies should get authorization from the United Nations before taking military action against Iraq, or not?"

Date	Yes	No	Should not invade (vol.)	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 17-22, 2003	76%	19%	1%	4%	1003	± 3.1

"Do you think other countries should provide military troops for peacekeeping in Iraq even if it means that the United States would have less control in Iraq?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
September 2-8, 2003	79%	16%	5%	817	± 3.4

"If the United Nations does not approve a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, which of the following do you think the United States should do: Postpone military action, allow the inspection to proceed and continue to seek international support, or begin military action to remove Saddam Hussein, with the help of whichever countries are willing to participate?"

Date	Postpone	Begin	No opinion	Sample	MoE
February 20-23, 2003	56%	38%	6%	845	± 3.4

"Do you think President Bush should get congressional approval before attacking Iraq?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
August 20-25, 2002	75%	19%	6%	819	± 3.4

War Protests

"Which of the following comes closer to your own opinion . . .
A) It's a sign of a healthy democracy when people exercise their right to demonstrate peacefully against the war, OR
B) It's better for the country to present a patriotic front during wartime, so people ought not to hold antiwar demonstrations."

Date	Healthy democracy	Patriotic front	No opinion	Sample	MoE
March 25-26, 2003	50%	43%	7%	831	± 3.4

"We are interested in knowing how the war in Iraq is affecting Minnesotans' personal lives. Have you yourself done any of the following in the past few months? … Attended a rally or other organized activity to protest the war, put up a yard sign opposing the war, attended a rally or other organized activity to support the war, put up a yard sign supporting the war, begun displaying the American flag?"

Date	Display flag	Yard sign support	Attend rally support	Attend rally oppose	Yard sign oppose	None / No opinion	Sample	MoE
March 25-26, 2003	34%	8%	4%	4%	1%	49%	831	± 3.4

Saddam Hussein

"If Saddam Hussein is convicted of crimes against humanity and the options for punishment were life in prison without parole or the death penalty, which would you prefer for him?"

Date	Death	Life in prison	Other (vol.)	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 16-18, 2003	57%	34%	2%	7%	737	± 3.6

"Some people say Saddam should be put on trial by an Iraqi tribunal to show that Iraq now follows the rule of law. Others say Saddam should be put on trial by a United Nations tribunal to ensure that his trial is fair. Do you think he should be tried by an Iraqi tribunal or by a United Nations tribunal?"

Date	U.N.	Iraqis	Other (vol.)	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 16-18, 2003	47%	43%	5%	5%	737	± 3.6

"How much do you think Saddam's capture will affect the safety of U.S. troops in Iraq? Do you think it will help the safety of the troops a great deal, only help somewhat, not help too much, or not help at all?"

Date	Great deal	Only somewhat	Not help too much	Not help at all	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Dec. 16-18, 2003	17%	45%	22%	13%	3%	737	± 3.6

"How much do you think Saddam's capture will affect the U.S. troops' withdrawal from Iraq? Do you think the U.S. troops will return more quickly, will take longer to return, or will his capture not affect a withdrawal at all?"

Date	More quickly	Take longer	Not affect withdrawal	No opinion	Sample	MoE
December 16-18, 2003	29%	12%	54%	5%	737	± 3.6

"If the United States does not capture Saddam Hussein or there is no evidence that he has been killed, would you consider the war in Iraq to be a victory or not?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
April 25-29, 2003	59%	35%	6%	1033	± 3.0

"Do you think Saddam Hussein has been supporting Osama Bin Laden and al-Quida terrorists?"

Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
March 25-26, 2003	69%	15%	16%	831	± 3.4

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