UPI Poll: Opposition to Iraq war has grown

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Half of the respondents to a UPI-Zogby International poll said they now strongly oppose the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

The 6,711 U.S. residents who took part in a Zogby interactive poll from Aug. 17-20 were asked a series of "then-now" questions regarding the war in Iraq. There is a 1.2 percentage-point margin of error in the results.

Asked what they recalled of their opinion of the war when it began in 2003, 39.2 percent said they strongly supported the U.S. action while 34.4 percent said they strongly opposed it. Asked their current opinion 50 percent said they strongly oppose the war and 30.2 percent said they strongly support it.

A strong plurality (44.3 percent) said they recalled believing at the start of the war that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and 30.4 percent said they currently have that opinion. Another 21.3 percent said in 2003 they didn't believe Iraq had WMD, a figure that has grown to 45.8 percent now.

Among the most dramatic change in opinions was that of independents. Some 29.4 percent of that subset of respondents said that in 2003 they strongly opposed the war, but in 2007 some 48.9 percent said they strongly oppose the war.