WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, wants the Iraqis to decide whether the United States military should be withdrawn from Iraq.
"Congressman Kucinich believes that Iraq, as a free nation and a blossoming democracy, should have the right of self determination," said his spokesman Doug Gordon.
Kucinich is working on a resolution to be introduced on the floor of Congress "soon" that would make it the sense of Congress that the United States would support an Iraqi referendum on the future of the U.S. occupation of the country.
Kucinich "strongly believes that the Iraqi people cannot fully be free until decision made about their future are made in Baghdad and not Washington," said Gordon.
Kucinich waged an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 2004, in part based on his opposition to the war.
According to recent polls, some 80 percent of Iraqis oppose the U.S. occupation. Officially the U.S. military is in Iraq at the invitation of Iraq's interim government.
A February poll conducted by the U.S. military in urban areas found that 71 percent of Iraqis oppose the presence of coalition forces in Iraq.
A January 2005 poll conducted by Abu Dhabi TV/Zogby International showed that 82 percent of Sunni Arabs and 69 percent of Shiite Arabs favor the withdrawal of U.S. troops either immediately or once an elected government is in place.
