WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) --
About one-quarter of participants in a UPI-Zogby International poll said al-Qaida has benefited most from the war in Iraq.
Al-Qaida was the top answer given by the 6,711 U.S. residents who, in a Zogby interactive poll conducted Aug. 17-20, were asked which group has benefited most from the Iraq war.
Al-Qaida was given by 27.5 percent of those asked while, “the Iraqi people” was second at 26.2 percent -- a difference just outside the poll’s 1.2 percentage-point margin of error.
However, respondents were obviously unsure of who has come out ahead in the 4 1/2 year-old war. “Other” came in third among responses at 14.4 percent and “not sure” was fourth at 13.6 percent.
Iran, Iraq’s eastern neighbor, was named as the biggest beneficiary by 12.6 percent of respondents with the United States a distant sixth at 4.3 percent. Israel, at 1.4 percent, was seventh.
More than half -- 55.1 percent -- of Republican respondents said the Iraqi people had benefited most but that was countered by 48.1 percent of Democrats who said al-Qaida benefited. Among independents, 27.3 percent said al-Qaida and 21.8 percent said the Iraqi people benefited most from the Iraq war.
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