67% of World Population Wants US Pull out from Iraq

London – Shaaban 25, 1428/ September 07, 2007 – Most people across the world believe US-led forces should withdraw from Iraq within a year, a BBC poll suggests. Some 39% of people in 22 countries said troops should leave now, and 28% backed a gradual pull-out. Just 23% wanted them to stay until Iraq was safe. In the US, one-in-four supported an immediate withdrawal, while 32% wanted Iraq's security issues to be resolved before bringing the troops home.

The BBC World Service commissioned the survey of 23,193 people. In the survey, people were asked whether coalition troops should pull out of Iraq immediately, commit to a gradual withdrawal over a year, or leave when the security situation improves.

In 19 countries, the majority of those questioned believed troops should be withdrawn either immediately or within a year. Just three countries - Kenya, the Philippines and India - did not have an overall majority favoring withdrawal within a year.

Large numbers of people questioned in India (36%) declined to comment or said they "didn't know". Muslim countries including Indonesia (65%), Turkey (64%) and Egypt (58%) were among those most eager for troops to be withdrawn immediately. But an immediate pull-out was much less popular in Australia (22%), the US (24%) and UK (27%) - the countries with most troops deployed in Iraq.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi minister said the most vital need is help from Iraq's neighbors. "Getting out of Iraq now probably the situation will be worsened; but, if our neighboring countries ceased involving themselves in Iraq, probably the situation will be improved definitely," Education Minister Abid Dhyab Al Ajili told the BBC. "So it depends on our neighboring countries.

Definitely I feel, if the American troops pulled out of Iraq, I think the situation will be improved in the long term." In recent days, leaders from the US, Australia and the UK have said troops must stay in Iraq until the country is safe. All three countries say they have a commitment to the Iraqi people to remain there until local forces are able to ensure their security.

But Doug Miller of Globescan, which carried out the research, said the results of the survey showed "the weight of global public opinion" was against them. The respondents were also asked whether they believed the US would leave a permanent military presence in Iraq. Half of those questioned believed the US would have bases in Iraq permanently, while 36% assumed all troops would withdraw once Iraq was stabilized.

The findings suggest support for keeping foreign troops in Iraq until security has improved has fallen significantly since an earlier World Service poll released in February 2006. The BBC's world affairs correspondent, Nick Childs, says it is not surprising, more than four years on from a controversial invasion, that international public opinion on the foreign troop presence should now be so negative. He added that the Bush administration has been battling perceptions that its aim has been to establish a permanent military presence in Iraq as part of a regional strategy - something it has denied.