PRINCETON, NJ -- A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll finds continuing erosion of public support for the U.S. intervention in Iraq, to the point that Americans are now about evenly divided over whether the Iraq situation was worth going to war over. Americans are also divided in their evaluations of the job George W. Bush is doing as president. According to the Sept. 19-21 survey, just 50% of Americans today believe that the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over; 48% disagree. Just 50% approve of the Bush's overall job performance; 47% disapprove.

Support for the Iraq mission has contracted since late August when 63% felt it was worth the military effort mounted by the United States. That figure fell to 58% in early September before tumbling to 50% in the latest poll. Today's figure is much lower than the high point of 76% registered on this in April when major combat was still underway. But it is not too different from the level of public support found in January, several months before the war started.

All in all, do you think the situation in Iraq is/was worth going to war over, or not?

The latest decline in support for the Iraq mission is seen mostly among younger men. Since early September, the percentage of 18- to 49-year-old men saying that the situation in Iraq was worth going to war has dropped by 16 points, from 68% to 52%. Among males 50 and older, this support has dropped by only 7 points. And among women, it has dropped by just 4 points. The net result is that men and women are now about even in their views on this issue. Previous surveys since the conclusion of major combat showed men somewhat more supportive than women of the Iraq war.

% Saying Iraq Worth Going to War Over By Gender

Given the difficulties faced by U.S. forces in Iraq this summer and the continued loss of American life in that conflict, it is not surprising that Americans would perceive the situation differently today than they did just shortly after President Bush triumphantly declared an end to "major combat" in Iraq on May 1. Shortly following that announcement by Bush, 41% of Americans perceived that "for all intents and purposes" the war with Iraq was over. Today, only 10% hold this view.

Is the War With Iraq Over?

Perceived Saddam Hussein Role in 9/11

A mounting controversy in recent weeks has focused on whether the Bush administration has been intentionally vague about the connection between Saddam Hussein and the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Vice President Dick Cheney fueled this controversy earlier in the month when he appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sept. 14 and said that success in Iraq means "We will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."

Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy was the most recent Democrat to enter the fray on this issue, using the "f-word" (fraud) in an interview last week in which he charged the administration with misleading the public about the seriousness of the Iraq threat in order to make the case for the Iraq war.

Despite no evidence thus far to support a direct link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks, public opinion polls have shown the public widely believing that Saddam Hussein was somehow connected with these attacks. Gallup Polls conducted in August 2002 and in March of this year found a slight majority of Americans believing that Saddam Hussein was personally involved. Additionally, an August Washington Post poll showed that almost 7 in 10 Americans thought it likely that Saddam was involved in the attacks.

In an apparent effort to quiet the criticism that the Bush administration was incorrectly exploiting Americans' readiness to believe that such ties were possible, last week President Bush was clear in his response to reporters' questions on this subject. He said that there was "…no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with Sept. the 11^th."

While Gallup polling on this question cannot be used to determine if Bush's recent comments helped change the public's mind, the weekend CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that close to half of Americans nevertheless continue believe that Saddam was personally involved in the 9/11 attacks. This is down only 8 points since the last asking, just before the Iraq war started in March.

Do you think Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11th terrorist attacks, or not?

Aside from their views about his ties to 9/11, most Americans (89%) believe that the deposed dictator is at least alive and almost half (47%) believe that he is alive and actively directing terrorist attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq:

Just your best guess, do you think Saddam Hussein is alive and personally directing the attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq, alive, but basically powerless to direct attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq, or do you think he is dead?

Sep 19-21, 2003

These data may help explain why the overwhelming majority of Americans now say that the war is still being fought in Iraq, and why the percentage saying that the situation was worth going to war over has been dropping.

Gallup polling since the 1991 Persian Gulf War has consistently found Americans favorable to the idea of removing Saddam Hussein from power. These perceptions that Hussein is still alive and perhaps still active in Iraq would seem to be potentially quite significant in lowering the public's enthusiasm about the success of the military endeavor.

Bush Approval Down

President Bush's approval rating from the American public has fallen steeply over the past four weeks, dropping 9 points since late August to 50% today. This decline breaks a sustained period of level approval ratings averaging 60% since June, after reaching a wartime peak of 71% approval in March and April.

George W. Bush’s Job Approval Rating January - September 2003

While approval of Bush was nearly this low just prior to Sept. 11, 2001 -- the event that sent his job rating soaring for more than a year and triggered a seismic shift in his presidency -- Bush's current disapproval rating is markedly higher than any previous figure. Today, 47% of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing as president, leaving only 3% with no opinion. Prior to now, the highest level of disapproval recorded for Bush was 39% in a poll conducted Sept. 7-10, 2001.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,003 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Sep. 19-21, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

18. All in all, do you think the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, or not?

Trends for Comparison: