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Poll: Americans oppose surge
Yahoo News/Reuters
February 13, 2007

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Americans do not approve of U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq, according to new polls released as the U.S. House of Representatives takes up a nonbinding resolution condemning the troop increase.

Sixty percent of Americans oppose the deployment that is part of Bush's new strategy for restoring security in Iraq, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll published on Tuesday.

The House opens debate on Tuesday on a two-sentence resolution disapproving a troop buildup in Iraq but also pledging support for U.S. forces serving there. A vote was planned for Friday.

Fifty-one percent of those polled said they favor congressional debate of a nonbinding resolution.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they were irritated by the Senate's failure to act last week on an Iraq resolution, USA Today said.

An overwhelming majority of Americans, 63 percent, support congressional action to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of next year and 57 percent back a cap on troop levels, according to the poll.

A CBS News poll released on the eve of the House debate found 63 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, where a wave of sectarian violence has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

But the CBS poll found a nearly even split on whether Congress should pass a resolution expressing disapproval of the plan. Forty-four percent favored passage of the measure while 45 percent were opposed.

With tension on the rise between the United States and Iran over U.S accusations that Iran is supplying arms to Iraqi insurgents, just one in five Americans believe Iran is a threat that should be met now with a military response, CBS said. More than half, 57 percent, said that for now diplomacy is the way to deal with Iran.

Iran denies that is sending weapons to Iraqi militants fighting U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

The USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,006 adults was conducted February 9-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

A random sample of 1,142 adults were interviewed in the CBS News poll February 8-11. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points.

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