US opposition to the war in Iraq has hit a record high, while US President George W. Bush's approval ratings have plunged to a new low, a poll released yesterday showed.
The results from the USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,014 adults came as US lawmakers renewed debate on war policy in Iraq with Bush facing unprecedented pressure from within his own Republican party to change course.
The poll showed that seven in 10 Americans favor removing nearly all US troops from Iraq by April.
Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said the US had made a mistake in deploying troops to Iraq -- the first time that figure exceeded 60 percent, USA Today reported yesterday.
Only one in five said an increase in US forces in Iraq starting in January had improved the situation, while half said Bush's "surge" strategy had made no difference, the paper said.
However, 55 percent said Congress should wait to formulate a new policy on Iraq until the commander of US forces there, General David Petraeus, delivers an assessment in September.
The poll, conducted from Friday through Sunday, also showed Bush's approval rating had dropped to 29 percent, compared with 33 percent last month and 38 percent in April.
Bush's standing among fellow Republicans also deteriorated, the poll said, with 68 percent of Republicans saying they approved of his performance, down from an average of 82 percent in his second term following his re-election.
Nearly four in 10 Republicans said Bush's handling of the immigration issue caused them to lose confidence in the president. Bush backed a major reform that would have offered a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. The proposal was defeated in Congress.
Also see stories:
Bush's defiance irks Congress
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS