ABC News/Washington Post Iraq Abuse Poll, May 2004

This special topic poll, fielded May 5-6, 2004, was undertaken to assess public opinion on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by United States soldiers in Iraq. Views were sought on whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting and whether the Bush administration had a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq. Respondents were asked how closely they were following news reports regarding the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers, whether the soldiers involved should be charged with a crime, whether higher-level military officers should be punished and held responsible, and whether the abuse represented a few isolated incidents or a more widespread problem. Respondents were polled on whether they approved of the way President George W. Bush was handling the issue of Iraqi prisoner abuse, whether he should apologize to the Iraqi people for these incidents, whether the Bush administration had acted quickly enough in investigating the reports when they had first become known, whether the Bush administration was more concerned with investigating these reports or covering them up, and whether Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should resign because of these incidents. Those polled also gave their personal reactions to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and whether they thought it was acceptable in a war situation. Background information includes sex, age, ethnicity, education, and political party affiliation.