WYOMING RESIDENTS SUPPORT AMERICA'S PRESENCE IN IRAQ

Nov. 10, 2004 -- Given the results of the presidential election, it is no surprise that Wyomingites view the United States' role in the war in Iraq very positively, according to a general election statewide survey conducted by the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center (WYSAC) located at the University of Wyoming.

Slightly more than two-thirds of respondents indicated that the war in Iraq was "worth fighting," while slightly less than 30 percent indicated it was "not worth fighting." A smaller majority of respondents believed that the war was either going very well or moderately well. On the opposite end, 35 percent of those participating in the survey indicated that the war was either going very badly or moderately badly.

Directed by Jim King, UW professor of political science, and Oliver Walter, dean of the UW College of Arts and Sciences, the statewide election survey was taken just prior to Nov. 2 with more than 600 persons interviewed by phone. The survey has been conducted before every general election since 1970.

"Opinions about the war in Iraq are highly correlated with party affiliation," says Walter. "For instance, 84 percent of the registered Republicans think the war is worth fighting, while only 31 percent of the Democrats agree with this."

The survey asked Wyoming citizens, "Compared to a year ago, do you think our country today is more safe or less safe from terrorism?" Two-thirds of the respondents answered that they thought the country was safer.

"Again, there was a large difference in perception of Republicans and Democrats," Walter says. He notes that eight out of 10 Republicans expressed the view that the nation was safer. "Only 37 percent of the Democrats answered in a similar manner, while nearly 50 percent thought the United States was less safe."

According to King and Walter, two Iraq-related controversies were frequently debated in the presidential election. The first issue was whether or not Iraq provided direct support to Al Qaeda terrorists. Researchers noted to survey participants that the 9/11 Commission reported there was little or no evidence of a link between Al Qaeda and the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Respondents strongly rejected this finding.

Responding to the question, "Do you think Iraq did or did not provide direct support to the Al Qaeda terrorist group," 63 percent of those surveyed answered in the affirmative. Walter says, "just under three-quarters of registered Republicans expressed belief in the linkage but nearly 40 percent of the registered Democrats did also."

The second, equally contentious, campaign controversy was the issue of whether or not Saddam Hussein's government possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD), according to Walter. He says that although some political leaders continue to affirm their conviction that such weapons will eventually be found, it is generally understood that Hussein did not possess WMDs prior to the American attack. Again, respondents held firm to one of the Bush administration's rationales for the war with Iraq.

Two-thirds of the Wyoming survey sample expressed the belief that Iraq did in fact possess WMDs. Less than a third of the respondents articulated doubt. Eighty percent of registered Republicans indicated belief in WMDs, while a little more than one-third of registered Democrats did.

--From the University of Wyoming's daily PR release, Nov. 10, 2004