Al
Jazeera.net
Thursday, December 14, 2006
More than 90 per cent of Iraqis believe the country is worse
off now than before the war in 2003, according to new research
obtained by Al Jazeera.
A survey of 2,000 people by the Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic
Studies found that 95 per cent of respondents believe the security
situation has deteriorated since the arrival of US forces.
The findings follow a poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal
that found that less than one in four Americans approves of George
Bush's administration’s handling of the conflict in Iraq.
It also comes as armed men attacked the convoy of Iraq's vice-president
and as up to 30 Iraqis were kidnapped in Baghdad on Thursday.
NBC reported that only 23 per cent of respondents backed the president's
strategy, representing an 11-point drop since the last NBC poll
in October.
Nearly seven in 10 respondents said they felt less confident the
war would come to a successful conclusion, NBC said. Fifty three
per cent said the US did not have an obligation to killed or wounded
American soldiers to remain in Iraq.
'Very poor' government
Bush has said he is considering options for changing US policy
in Iraq following the results of the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group
report, but has said he will not be rushed into any decision.
Nearly 66 per cent of respondents to the Iraqi survey thought
violence would decrease if US forces were to leave.
Thirty-eight per cent were also "unconfident" that
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, would be able to improve
the situation in Iraq and nearly 90 per cent described the government's
implementation of its commitments and promises as very poor.
Of the respondents, 36.5 per cent said they felt the official
security forces were unable to keep control in the country.
Meanwhile, the security situation deteriorated even further on
the ground in Iraq when about 100 armed men wearing military uniforms
kidnapped dozens of merchants in a busy commercial street in the
centre of Baghdad.
Witnesses and security officials said the men arrived in about
20 silver sports utility vehicles and grabbed between 20 and 30
people in the Sinak commercial area of Rashid Street.
In another incident in the capital on Thursday the convoy of
Adel Abdul Mahdi, the vice president, came under attack, but there
were no immediate reports of any injuries.
Officials from the interior ministry said Abdul Mahdi was in
the convoy but unhurt.
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