"On February 16, 2008, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim Mohammed told reporters that the surge was "working very well" and that Iraq has a "pressing" need for troops to stay to secure Iraqi borders.‏⁷⁰ He stated that "Results for 2007 prove that– Baghdad is good now".‏⁷⁰"/

A BBC News poll published the day of Petraeus' testimony (September 2007) reported that 70% of Iraqis believe that the surge has worsened conditions in the country.‏⁴⁶ It also reported that over 90% of Iraqi Sunnis consider attacks on American forces acceptable while 50% of Iraqi Shia do.‏⁴⁷ Another BBC poll found that only 35% of Iraqis supported an immediate withdrawal of coalition troops. The remainder thought the forces should stay until it met its goals regarding the security situation or its goals in strengthening the Government of Iraq.

A March 2008 poll of Iraq found that 42% of Iraqis call attacks on U.S. forces acceptable and that only 4% of Iraqis believe that U.S. forces are responsible for the drop in violence.‏¹⁰⁷ The poll also found that 61% believed that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq was actually worsening the security situation.‏¹⁰⁷ In July 2008, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and Iraqi National security advisor Muwaffaq Al-Rubaie both sought a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.