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.
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