PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds most Americans saying it would be harmful to the United States if it withdrew its troops from Iraq before the situation stabilizes there.

A majority also says that it is necessary to keep U.S. troops in Iraq to thwart terrorist attacks on the United States, that the United States and its allies are making progress in Iraq, and that the Bush administration is doing a good job in providing the proper number of troops and right equipment to prevent unnecessary casualties.

The poll was conducted June 29-30, in the two days following President George W. Bush's nationally televised speech to troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., Tuesday night.

Here are the numbers:

64% of those polled felt that pulling troops out of Iraq before the area is stabilized would do more harm than good. 55% feel that keeping troops in Iraq is a neccessary part of the war on terror.

Polls are polls and the public is fickle, but afer the barrage of apparently negative opinion polls about Iraq this one is a breath of fresh air.

But really, I don't believe the President is going to listen to opinion polls when it comes to Iraq. He feels that his administration knows the proper objectives to obtain in that region and he's going to continue working toward obtaining them as long as he is in office. Convincing the public that this is the proper course if important, of course, but he's not changing his plans just because the general public succumbs to the constant stream of negativity issued by the media and leftist politicians.