Combined with a poll taken before the report, showing a majority had dismmised the report as a sham before it was even given, the new poll shows that the same people who supported the surge in January support it now.
Giving the lie to Republican fairy tales of "lefties" opposing the occupation, the poll shows two-thirds of moderates saying that the surge is a failure and that the war was a mistake from the start. Also, about 60% of Independent voters say the surge is a failure, so this view is hardly limited to the Democratic Party. 30% of Republicans agree with the assessment of failure.
Still, the neocons brazenly shrill about treasonous, left-wing Democrats trying to destroy the country. Somehow the fact that Bush has received every cent he has asked for from Congress goes unmentioned. This huge PR exercise, in which the military, the media, and politicians have been leaned on to frame the debate in Bush's favour, has all come to naught.
Only a dismal 7% said that the war and subsequent occupation would go down in history as a success. And when necons snarl that 30% support for Bush is a significant number, they should also realise that 30% is about the proportion that believe the war in Iraq will be judged a complete failure.
Aside from tax cuts and a veritable flood of money to defence contractors, Bush's base has gained surprisingly little from his Presidency. At the same time, Bush has managed to alienate the entire world along with Hindus, Hispanics and Muslims here at home. He has virtually accused the majority of America's citizens of treason and support of terrorism for years. In 2004, Bush proclaimed his 51% electoral victory as a mandate with a straight face, and he proceeded to slide down in the polls ever since. He has stopped speaking to the American public years ago, aiming his efforts almost solely at shoring up his base's support, and giving speeches only at venues where he is guaranteed to be well-received. Ever since the '04 election, Republicans have lived in a fantasy world where they truly believe that the vast majority of the public supports them, were they not deceived by the "liberal" media and treacherous Democrats, yet Bush's repeated recitiations of their talking points has not gained the Party any traction whatsoever. It is a Party of the Doomed.
story from Xinhua
US public sees Iraq War as failure
The US public sees the Iraq War as a failure and thinks the US troop buildup there has not worked, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll suggesting the tough sell President George W. Bush faces in asking Congress and voters for more time.
The pessimism expressed by most people - including significant minorities of Republicans - contrasted with the brighter picture offered by General David Petraeus. The chief US commander in Iraq told Congress on Monday that the added 30,000 troops have largely achieved their military goals and could probably leave by next summer, though he conceded there has been scant political progress.
By 59 percent to 34 percent, more people said they believe history will judge the Iraq War a complete or partial failure than the number who said it would be judged a success. Those calling it a failure included eight in 10 Democrats, three in 10 Republicans and about six in 10 independents, the poll showed - ominous numbers for a president who hopes to use a nationally televized address later this week to keep Republican lawmakers from joining Democratic calls for a withdrawal.
"We cannot take any of this administration's assertions on Iraq at face value anymore," said Democratic Republican Tom Lantos, a war foe and senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. "And no amount of charts or statistics will improve its credibility."
Underscoring the public's negativity, four times as many predicted the war in Iraq would be judged as a complete US failure as the number who see a complete success, 28 percent to 7 percent.
When the Gallup Poll asked the same question in September 2006, 52 percent said the war will be judged as a partial or complete failure, seven points fewer than the AP-Ipsos survey.
"The enemy was in Afghanistan, and I believe going into Iraq we took our eye off the ball," said Ann Bock, 66, a retired teacher and Democratic-leaning voter from Edmond, Oklahoma, who participated in the survey.
In the poll - taken in the days just before Petraeus' long-awaited appearance - more people rated the troop increase a failure than a success by 58 percent to 36 percent, with three in 10 Republicans joining majorities of Democrats and independents in foreseeing failure.
Positive reviews of the troop increase were at about the same level as they were in mid-January, just after Bush announced the buildup.
People calling it a mistake to go to war in March 2003 outnumbered those calling it the right decision by 57 percent to 37 percent, numbers that have stayed about level for more than a year. About a quarter of Republicans, along with most Democrats and independents, labeled the war an error.
Among those in the poll supporting the conflict is Ronald Shaul, 62, a Republican and retired military intelligence officer.
"It was a logical outgrowth of the war on terror, started long ago by Islamic extremists," said Shaul, who lives in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Overall, those viewing the war and the troop buildup most negatively tended to be groups that often lean Democratic: females, minorities, those with lower incomes and those with less education.
For example, about two-thirds of women and half of men said the troop increase had not worked, while more minorities than whites said the war had been a mistake.
But the war remains unpopular with another group crucial to both political parties: moderates. Nearly two-thirds of them said the war and troop increase were failing and that the conflict was a mistake from the start.
Two groups that normally support the Bush administration - white evangelical voters and conservatives - remained largely behind its war strategy.
The poll was conducted on September 6-9 and involved telephone interviews with 1,000 adults. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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