US soldiers prepare to search homes in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq  28 June 2007

A new poll shows opposition to the Iraq war at its highest level ever in the United States, as the Senate debates military spending priorities this week.

The poll by USA Today and Gallup surveyed more than 1,000 Americans between Friday and Sunday. Of those, more than 70 percent favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by April.

Only one in five (20 percent) said the increase in U.S. forces in Iraq since January has made any difference.

The poll also showed President Bush's approval rating has dropped to 29 percent, down from 33 percent in early June.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

The results come as Democratic Party leaders in the Senate plan to introduce amendments to the Defense Department budget authorization bill. One amendment would cut off funding for combat operations after April of next year.

Democratic Senator Jim Webb plans to introduce an amendment that would extend the length of time U.S. forces spend in the United States between deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled a four-country tour of Latin America planned for this week to help prepare a report to Congress on progress made by the Iraqi government. The administration is required to present an interim report to Congress by July 15, and to present another report on progress in Iraq in September.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.