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Results Mixed at Home, Abroad Over Iraq War

Aired October 14, 2003 - 14:26   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Critics are just plain wrong. That's what the president of the United States says about those who question his strategy in Iraq. In interviews with five TV affiliate services, Mr. Bush said all they have to do is talk to the people who recently traveled to Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a sense that people in America aren't getting the truth. And that's why it's very important for this administration to encourage congressional delegations, for example, to travel to Iraq and come back and say what they saw.

I mean, we're making good progress about improving the lives of the people there in Iraq. It's very important for the American people to know that a peaceful Iraq, a free Iraq, is in our national interests. It will make America more secure. And it will change the neighborhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The president also said Americans have to be patient. It's going to be a while longer before the job is finished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: If we're to get out of Iraq now, it would be a terrible mistake. A free and peaceful Iraq is in this nation's interest. And plus we've made a commitment to the overwhelming number of Iraqis who do not want Saddam Hussein and/or his thugs to return. I would hope nobody in this country is advocating that. If they are, I would simply say they're wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: But what the Iraqi people? Have they had enough of Americans or do they want the U.S. to do more? The Gallup folks have been asking around in Iraq. And Frank Newport, Gallup's editor-in- chief is here with the answers. Frank, first, it must be difficult to do a poll over there.

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP'S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Indeed it is. But we managed. This was the first scientific poll of the greater Baghdad area that's been conducted since the military action last spring in Iraq. This actually, I think, gives us a good representative sample of what the people of Baghdad feel.

The interesting question, of course, as the president just said, he says the majority of Iraqis don't want the troops out at this point. In fact, that's accurate. We asked exactly that question, of Baghdad residents, this is our poll conducted in late August, early September, over 1,000 individuals, a random sample of adults, 72 percent said they want the U.S. and coalition troops to stay, almost indefinitely. Only 26 percent said leave soon. So that 3/4 of Baghdadis who said they want the troops to stay.

Now, we also asked in line with what we've been hearing about the attacks on coalition troops, can they be morally justified? We put this, Miles, in the context of several different types of things. We said can it be justified, all the time, is it mixed or not justified?

About two-thirds of the residents of Baghdad said the attacks cannot be justified, 17 percent said mixed. A small number, 19 percent said attacks could be justified. So all in all, our reading of the people of Baghdad is in line with what hear the president say, we want American troops to be there at least for the foreseeable future.

O'BRIEN: Nevertheless, the president feels compelled to bypass what he calls the filter, the Washington media, the national media. What are the American people doing in all of this? Are they buying the president's policy as they understand it right now?

NEWPORT: Good question, Miles. We've been studying the data from the American public about views towards Iraq. Mixed is often the case.

On the fundamental question, whether the U.S. should be there at all, something that's been questioned by the Democratic candidates, we still have a majority saying yes. Was it a mistake for the U.S. to be in Iraq? The number who say yes has gone up from 27 percent to 40 percent. Study that carefully. You still have a majority, 59 percent of Americans, who say no it was not a mistake.

This is an important question. It has a historical background. It's the same question we asked the Americans through the Vietnam War. There was a point there, in '67 and '68 when the percent saying it was a mistake went above 50 percent. That was a key point, but we're not there yet.

At the same time, Miles, when we say what about the 87 billion, this is what I mean by mixed. You have less than a majority, just 41 percent, who say they want Congress to spend that much money on Iraq. They think it's appropriate that the U.S. is there, they're worried about how things are going, but they don't want to spend all that money. There's your mixed response by the American public.

O'BRIEN: Support but when it gets time to write the checks, it gets dicey, doesn't it?

NEWPORT: That's right, Miles. It's hard for the public, it looks like to us, to justify these very large amounts of money being spent in Baghdad.

O'BRIEN: All right. Frank Newport, always a pleasure. Appreciate your insights.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 14, 2003 - 14:26   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Critics are just plain wrong. That's what the president of the United States says about those who question his strategy in Iraq. In interviews with five TV affiliate services, Mr. Bush said all they have to do is talk to the people who recently traveled to Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a sense that people in America aren't getting the truth. And that's why it's very important for this administration to encourage congressional delegations, for example, to travel to Iraq and come back and say what they saw.

I mean, we're making good progress about improving the lives of the people there in Iraq. It's very important for the American people to know that a peaceful Iraq, a free Iraq, is in our national interests. It will make America more secure. And it will change the neighborhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The president also said Americans have to be patient. It's going to be a while longer before the job is finished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: If we're to get out of Iraq now, it would be a terrible mistake. A free and peaceful Iraq is in this nation's interest. And plus we've made a commitment to the overwhelming number of Iraqis who do not want Saddam Hussein and/or his thugs to return. I would hope nobody in this country is advocating that. If they are, I would simply say they're wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: But what the Iraqi people? Have they had enough of Americans or do they want the U.S. to do more? The Gallup folks have been asking around in Iraq. And Frank Newport, Gallup's editor-in- chief is here with the answers. Frank, first, it must be difficult to do a poll over there.

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP'S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Indeed it is. But we managed. This was the first scientific poll of the greater Baghdad area that's been conducted since the military action last spring in Iraq. This actually, I think, gives us a good representative sample of what the people of Baghdad feel.

The interesting question, of course, as the president just said, he says the majority of Iraqis don't want the troops out at this point. In fact, that's accurate. We asked exactly that question, of Baghdad residents, this is our poll conducted in late August, early September, over 1,000 individuals, a random sample of adults, 72 percent said they want the U.S. and coalition troops to stay, almost indefinitely. Only 26 percent said leave soon. So that 3/4 of Baghdadis who said they want the troops to stay.

Now, we also asked in line with what we've been hearing about the attacks on coalition troops, can they be morally justified? We put this, Miles, in the context of several different types of things. We said can it be justified, all the time, is it mixed or not justified?

About two-thirds of the residents of Baghdad said the attacks cannot be justified, 17 percent said mixed. A small number, 19 percent said attacks could be justified. So all in all, our reading of the people of Baghdad is in line with what hear the president say, we want American troops to be there at least for the foreseeable future.

O'BRIEN: Nevertheless, the president feels compelled to bypass what he calls the filter, the Washington media, the national media. What are the American people doing in all of this? Are they buying the president's policy as they understand it right now?

NEWPORT: Good question, Miles. We've been studying the data from the American public about views towards Iraq. Mixed is often the case.

On the fundamental question, whether the U.S. should be there at all, something that's been questioned by the Democratic candidates, we still have a majority saying yes. Was it a mistake for the U.S. to be in Iraq? The number who say yes has gone up from 27 percent to 40 percent. Study that carefully. You still have a majority, 59 percent of Americans, who say no it was not a mistake.

This is an important question. It has a historical background. It's the same question we asked the Americans through the Vietnam War. There was a point there, in '67 and '68 when the percent saying it was a mistake went above 50 percent. That was a key point, but we're not there yet.

At the same time, Miles, when we say what about the 87 billion, this is what I mean by mixed. You have less than a majority, just 41 percent, who say they want Congress to spend that much money on Iraq. They think it's appropriate that the U.S. is there, they're worried about how things are going, but they don't want to spend all that money. There's your mixed response by the American public.

O'BRIEN: Support but when it gets time to write the checks, it gets dicey, doesn't it?

NEWPORT: That's right, Miles. It's hard for the public, it looks like to us, to justify these very large amounts of money being spent in Baghdad.

O'BRIEN: All right. Frank Newport, always a pleasure. Appreciate your insights.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com