Americans trust Congress over Bush on Iraq war

Washington, July 24: Most Americans see President George W Bush as too inflexible on the war in Iraq and prefer that the Democratic-run Congress have the final word on when to withdraw US forces, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed.

Nearly 80 per cent of those polled said Bush is not willing enough to change policies over the unpopular war that has taken a huge toll on his approval ratings, the Post reported.

The poll was conducted last week, after Senate Democrats failed to advance a plan that would force Bush to withdraw US combat troops from Iraq by April 2008.

More than six in 10 Americans 62 per cent said Congress should have the final say on when to pull out US forces, compared with 31 per cent who said the decision should rest with Bush, the poll showed.

A narrow majority, 55 per cent, said they supported the proposed pullout plan, which the Senate may not consider again until after its August recess.

The per centage of Americans seeing Bush as too rigid on Iraq has climbed 12 per centage points since December, the Post said yesterday.

It said Bush's approval rating of 33 per cent matched his all-time low, with 65 per cent disapproving. In previous Post/ABC polls, Bush was also at the 33 per cent mark in May 2006 and January 2007.

Congress did not rate much better with a 37 per cent approval and 60 per cent disapproval rating, which the Post said was equal to dissatisfaction late last year when Republicans controlled Congress.

Other recent polls have shown Bush's approval rating below 30 per cent and Congress even lower.

But on the issue of Iraq, the Post/ABC poll showed that the public stands with Congress.

Fifty-five per cent said they trusted congressional Democrats on the war, compared with 32 per cent who said they trusted Bush, the Post said.

The poll of 1,125 adults was conducted on July 18-21 and had a three-point margin of error.

Reuters>