Many in US oppose Bush's Iraq initiative

New Delhi: US President Bush’s plan to roughly send 21, 000 additional troops to Iraq have been opposed by most Americans.

However, a significant number says that the Congress should try to block it by withholding funds for more forces, according to a new national survey.

The latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press shows that 61 per cent of Americans oppose Bush's plan to send more troops. And 43 per cent of the opponents express support for the Congress withholding

funding.

The survey conducted among 1,708 adults also reflected increased partisan polarisation on the debate over what to do in Iraq, with 60 per cent of the Republicans supporting Bush’s initiative, and 82 per cent of Democrats opposing it.

Support for the president's proposal is undercut by doubts about the impact that US forces can have in Iraq.

The poll also showed that Americans are divided over the effects of the US presence on the Iraqi government.

While 43 per cent of the respondents believe the presence of American forces in Iraq is doing more to help the Iraqi government by providing needed support, 43 per cent of the opinion that it is doing more to hurt the Iraqi government by making them too dependent on the US.

In addition to that most Americans lack confidence that the Iraqis can take over security in the provinces by November, as promised.

And just 37 per cent believe that America's security from terrorist attacks depends on our success in Iraq that is a fundamental part of President Bush's case for the additional troops.