Agence France Presse  --  Arab News

WASHINGTON, 16 May 2004 — Public support for President George W. Bush has plummeted as Americans show increasing concern about the war in Iraq, according to a CNN Time magazine poll released Friday.

In a match-up with Bush, Democratic rival John Kerry led 51 percent to 46 percent for the president among likely voters.

Support for the war in Iraq also fell, with 48 percent believing the war was the right thing to do, down from 53 percent in April. Fifty-six percent said the war was not worth the cost in American lives.

Approval of Bush’s overall job as president fell to 46 percent from 49 in the last CNN Time poll. The poll was conducted May 12 and 13, at the height of the scandal over prisoner mistreatment in Iraq by US troops.

The scandal, sparked by photos of soldiers laughing and pointing as naked Iraqi prisoners were forced into sexually suggestive positions, made 27 percent of those polled “less supportive” of the war.

Half of those asked believe there was a cover-up of the abuse, but 63 percent said they believe it is limited to a “few individual soldiers.” Only 41 percent said the United States was winning the war in Iraq.

In the war on terrorism, Bush held an advantage, with 49 percent saying he would do a better job than Kerry. Only 42 percent favored the Democrat.