Most Iraqis believe the US pacification campaign launched in February last has been a failure.

 According to a poll of 2,000 Iraqis conducted between August 17-24 in 450 neighbourhoods in all 18 provinces, 70 per cent of respondents say security has deteriorated during this period and more than 60 per cent — 93 per cent Sunnis and 50 per cent of Shias — contend attacks on US occupation forces are justified.

The poll results were released on Monday only hours ahead of reports to the US Congress by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petreus, and by US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker. 

Between 67-70 per cent of Iraqis polled says the US “surge” has obstructed political dialogue, reconstruction and economic development.

Seventy per cent believes security has grown worse in areas targeted by the “surge”, while 69 per cent says security in other areas is worse than before the campaign. Sixty-seven per cent holds that the Iraqi government is incapable of carrying out its work. A mere four per cent of Sunnis has confidence in the government as compared with 58 per cent of Shias.

Only 34 per cent of Sunnis has confidence in the army as compared with 83 per cent for Shias.  Thirty-seven per cent of Sunnis has confidence in the police, while the figure for Shias is 58 per cent.

Seventy nine per cent of Iraqis think Iran is promoting sectarian violence, 66 per cent believes Syria is doing the same and 65 per cent says Saudi Arabia is involved. 

Sixty-five per cent says the pace of reconstruction is slow and 68 per cent thinks the pace of economic development is lagging. 

Eighty-eight per cent of Sunnis says their situation is deteriorating, while 54 per cent of Shias thinks matters are going well. 

A mere 29 per cent believes the situation will improve next year, down from 64 per cent two years ago.  While 47 per cent wants foreign forces to leave Iraq, 53 per cent says they must stay until security has been imposed.  But 85 per cent says they have little or no confidence in US and allied forces.

Eighty per cent says the job prospects are poor, 93 per cent says the supply of electricity is bad, 75 per cent says the same about water and 92 per cent for fuel for cars and generators.
Sixty-two per cent says Iraq should have a strong central government, while 98 per cent opposes division of the country along sectarian lines. 

This was the fourth poll conducted by the BBC in cooperation with the US ABC network and a Japan’s NHK network.

Previous polls were conducted in February 2004, November 2005, and February 2007.

The results of the poll contrast sharply with the claim made by Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki that violence had dropped by 75 per cent in Baghdad. But he also said that US forces must stay on until the Iraqi army and police were ready to take over full security responsibilities.

US President George W Bush is relying on Petreus and Crocker to convince Congress that it should continue to fund US military operations in Iraq and to persuade voters that US forces should remain in Iraq in strength for at least another 18 months. The Pentagon has deployed 170,000 troops in Iraq, an increase of 30,000 for the “surge”.