Poll: Iraq abuse upsetting; Rumsfeld support high

By The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans say they are upset about reports of abuse of Iraqi prisoners, though more than two-thirds say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should not resign, according to a poll released yesterday.

The ABC News-Washington Post poll found that 66 percent believe the soldiers involved should be charged with a crime, and just over half, 54 percent, said high-level officers should be punished for allowing the problems that led to the abuse.

People were evenly split on whether the Bush administration acted quickly enough in investigating the reports and on whether the administration was trying to investigate the abuse reports or was trying to cover it up.

Just over half, 51 percent, said they were upset about the reports, including a quarter of those polled who said they were angry.

Most people, 69 percent, said Rumsfeld should not resign. Only 20 percent said he should resign. Democrats in the poll said by a 2-1 margin that Rumsfeld should not resign.

Six in 10 said the abuse of Iraqi soldiers represented a few isolated incidents, while half that number, 31 percent, said they think the abuse was more widespread.

The poll of 802 adults was taken Wednesday and Thursday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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