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Iraq war pushes Bush's popularity to an all-time low

Profound pessimism about the Iraq war has pushed US President George W. Bush's popularity to an all-time low of 34 percent, as new polls on Sunday showed both US civilians and soldiers at odds with the White House over US objectives and strategy.

While some of the drop in support is attributable to discontent with domestic policies, it is clear the sectarian bloodletting in Iraq over the past week has extinguished hopes that December's elections could help stabilize the country and pave the way for US troop withdrawal.

Carnage returned to the streets of Baghdad, the Sunni Triangle and Amara one day after the lifting of the daytime curfews imposed in an attempt to stop the slide into civil war after last week's bombing of a Shia shrine. Two British soldiers were killed and another injured when their Land Rover was hit by a roadside bomb in Amara; troops coming to their rescue were stoned.

Against that backdrop, a poll published by CBS News yesterday found that only 36 percent of US citizens said the war was going well, and 30 percent thought Bush was doing a good job of handling the conflict.

Even fewer believed the results of the war were worth the cost. Those concerns have dragged Bush's overall approval ratings down to levels not seen since the depths of Richard Nixon's presidency. Now, only 34 percent of the country approves of the way Bush is handling his job and only 29 percent has a favorable view of him as a person.

One of the few public figures more unpopular at the moment is Vice President Dick Cheney, still under a cloud for having shot a friend in a hunting accident last month. Only 18 percent of US citizens surveyed had a favorable view of Mr Cheney.

Neither Bush nor Cheney will be standing for election again, but the lack of public support for the war is a serious concern at a time when decisions have to be taken over US troop levels. The threat of civil war between Sunni and Shia Iraqis has cast doubt in the Pentagon over significant troop withdrawals which had been pencilled in for this year, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.
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