# Would a popular vote in Iraq help decide if we should still be there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 9, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-popular-vote-in-iraq-help-decide-if-we-should-still-be-there/379715 "2006-11-09T16:03:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-popular-vote-in-iraq-help-decide-if-we-should-still-be-there/379715/1 "2006-11-09T16:03:17Z")
Of course I realize there are all kinds of potential problems with this scenario, but hypothetically, what if there was an honest-to-god, election-style vote (e.g. “do you believe US troops should leave?” “Do you feel your country would be in terrible danger if US troops left?” or some other kinds of better-written questions)? I’ve heard all kinds of third-person accounts, from “We’re so glad you’re here, please don’t leave” to “We hate Americans, all you’re doing is making it worse”, and then of course there’s tons of spin applied to whatever is “said”. I’m not at all making an argument for staying, I’d love for all of the troops to come home today if they could. My question comes from being unsure what the _real_ feeling is in Iraq about our presence there. It seems like our own election spoke volumes about our feelings about Iraq. What if Iraq had a vote? What are the problems with this scenario? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-popular-vote-in-iraq-help-decide-if-we-should-still-be-there/379715/2 "2006-11-09T16:20:17Z")
[QUOTE=annewaldron] Of course I realize there are all kinds of potential problems with this scenario, but hypothetically, what if there was an honest-to-god, election-style vote (e.g. “do you believe US troops should leave?” “Do you feel your country would be in terrible danger if US troops left?” or some other kinds of better-written questions)? [/quote] I expect that they’d vote for us to leave, and that we would ignore them. For that matter, I expect they’d vote for our army to march into the sea without breathing gear. [QUOTE=annewaldron] My question comes from being unsure what the _real_ feeling is in Iraq about our presence there. [/quote] From the polls I’ve heard of, that we’re making things worse, and that killing Americans is a great idea. [Here’s](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/23/wirq23.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/10/23/ixportaltop.html) a story about one of the older such polls, conducted by the British. > [@](#): > > • Forty-five per cent of Iraqis believe attacks against British and American troops are justified - rising to 65 per cent in the British-controlled Maysan province; > > • 82 per cent are “strongly opposed” to the presence of coalition troops; > > • less than one per cent of the population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security; > > • 67 per cent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation; > > • 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened; > > • 72 per cent do not have confidence in the multi-national forces. This is from a year ago, and things have _not_ improved since then. Understand, we are sufficiently unpopular that people who work in our embassy often won’t tell their own families that they work there, for fear of being killed by them. We are _hated_. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-popular-vote-in-iraq-help-decide-if-we-should-still-be-there/379715/3 "2006-11-09T17:08:26Z")
At the same time, such a poll could only be organized by the Iraqi government, which is 100% dependent on American military support. This reduces the likelihood of such a poll to nil. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-popular-vote-in-iraq-help-decide-if-we-should-still-be-there/379715/4 "2006-11-09T17:10:47Z")
It would also likely be an unhealthy focus for sectarian violence. Maybe wouldn’t make it any worse, but surely wouldn’t make it better.