ASBURY PARK, N.J., March 1 (UPI) -- A plurality of U.S. voters think the Arab world's growing unrest makes it unlikely U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the year's end as planned, poll indicates.
Rasmussen Reports of Asbury Park, N.J., reported Tuesday its nationwide telephone survey indicated 19 percent of "likely U.S. voters" believe the upheaval in the Middle East and Africa will improve the situation in Iraq, 40 percent think it will worsen things there, 18 percent believe it will have no effect, but almost a quarter of the voters aren't sure what impact the events will have.
Twenty-two percent of those surveyed said if the situation in Iraq becomes more violent, the United States should send soldiers back into Iraq, but 65 percent said the Iraqis should deal with the consequences of growing violence themselves. Thirteen percent were undecided.
There are now about 50,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, down from a peak of 150,000 during the height of the war.
Fifty-eight percent think the political upheaval will involve the United States in a major new war -- a full 26 percent say such an eventuality is very likely.
Rasmussen's survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Saturday and Sunday. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
