Support for the Iraq war has fallen to an all-time low in the United States of 44 percent, according to a poll released Saturday which also highlighted mounting public concern over the cost of the conflict.
The New York Times/CBS News poll said the 44 percent support for President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was the lowest total in the two years the question has been asked.
Fifty-two percent of the 1,167 adults asked said there should be an immediate withdrawal of the approximately 140,000 US troops in Iraq. About 1,900 have been killed since the start of the war.
Only 42 percent said US troops should stay in Iraq as long as it takes to finish the mission to stabilise the country, 12 percentage points below the total one year ago. The New York Times said nearly 60 percent of those asked disapproved of the way Bush is handling Iraq.
Eighty-three percent were concerned at the five-billion-dollar monthly cost of the war, against only 11 percent who were not worried. The Times said 90 percent said they would disapprove of spending cuts on education and welfare to pay for the war.
Almost all recent polls have signalled a collapse in popular support for the war and the president's handling of the conflict.
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