Listen To Report from NPR
Support for President George W. Bush's Iraq policy has fallen among the US armed forces to just 54 percent from 63 percent a year ago, according to a poll by the magazine group Military Times.
In its annual survey of the views of military personnel, the group reported on its website that support for Bush's overall policies dropped over the past year to 60 percent from 71 percent.
While still significantly more supportive of the president than the broad US population, the fall in support by military personnel tracks a similar decline in the president's popularity among the general public.
"Though support both for President Bush and for the war in Iraq remains significantly higher than in the public as a whole, the drop is likely to add further fuel to the heated debate over Iraq policy," Military Times said.
"In 2003 and 2004, supporters of the war in Iraq pointed to high approval ratings in the Military Times poll as a signal that military members were behind ... the president's policy."
However, it said, the new poll "found diminished optimism that US goals in Iraq can be accomplished, and a somewhat smaller drop in support for the decision to go to war in 2003."
Military Times, which publishes popular magazines for each of the US military branches including Army Times and Navy Times, cautioned that its poll, of 1,215 active-duty servicemen, is not necessarily representative of the military as a whole.
The respondents were "on average older, more experienced, more likely to be officers and more career-oriented than the military population."
But the declining numbers for Bush tracked other polls. According to the CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, support for Bush's performance as president fell from 49 percent to 43 percent over the year to December 22.
The Military Times poll also showed a significant decline in the armed forces' views of US military policy and management.
With 61 percent of respondents saying they had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, only 58 percent believed that Bush had the military's best interests at heart, a sharp decline from 69 percent a year before.
Only 56 percent felt the US should have gone to war in Iraq, compared to 60 percent a year before.
And 64 percent felt the same about the Pentagon leadership, compared to 70 percent a year ago.
Addressing key issues facing the Pentagon, the poll showed that almost two-thirds of the soldiers felt the US military is "stretched too thin to be effective", but the number was less than a year ago.
At the same time, there was a fall in resistance to restoring the draft in the United States. Opposition fell from 75 percent a year ago to 68 percent this year.
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Meanwhile 3000 U.S. Soldiers have now been killed in Iraq. Not to mention the 22,000 + who have been wounded, or the American civilian casualties (which hardly gets a mention in the media). Also, December was the deadliest month of 2006 for the U.S. military in Iraq, with 113 killed.
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George W. Bush is blowing my mind.
The most powerful man on the Planet Earth started off yesterday’s televised speech with “Tonight in Iraq, the armed forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the "global war on terror" - and our safety here at home. The new strategy I outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help us succeed in the fight against terror.”
How, in the name of hell, can Bush tie in “the global war on terror” with the "civil war in Iraq"?
The "civil war" is between two backward tribes of Muslims within the borders of Iraq, the Shia and Sunni for a uncivlized, stupid reason.
World “terrorism” and “civil war” are two totally different things.
A successful ‘con man’, George is not. After spending over $357,000,000,000, that’s "billion", not “million”, on Iraq and losing over 3,000 young, American soldiers, without leveling with the American people why they are really there, his pop-polls have gone southward.
Surely, even the most uniformed and ignorant of Americans can not accept his ever-changing reasons why the USA is in Iraq. Surely they are able to put their national pride in their hip pocket and face reality,
With George W., there has been a evolution in 'reasons' for the US presence in Iraq, but the presence of al Qaeda was never one of them, that is, until now.
First, Bush’s reason for invading Saddam’s paradise was to destroy Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
Secondly, with no WMD found, Bush shifted the justification for the invasion to ‘creating a democracy’. In the middle of a sectarian, civil war in Iraq, if it ever had any hope, it is failing miserably.
Now, Bush said that his latest 'reason' is to fight “insurgents” and "al Qaeda".
Decoded, “insurgents” are “Sunni Moslems” in Shiite-controlled areas of Iraq. In Sunni-controlled areas, “insurgents” are “Shiite Moslems”. Amongst both, there is likely a sprinkling of Iranian imports who, in the Name of Allah, are fighting for the creation of another failed, Islamic theocracy.
In his address was the introduction of 'a third party' into the Iraqi quagmire that we had not heard of earlier. It was a regurgitating of 'al Qaeda".
Even the most intellectually-numb of Americans can easily and directly identify with "al Qaeda", those dreaded, wild-eyed, Islamic radicals' control of aircraft that wiped New York's Twin Towers from the map in 9/11's mass of smoke and death.
In order to introduce "al Qaeda" into Iraq's "civil war” mix, George sneaked in this gem as 'rock-hard', 'unquestionable' evidence of the presence of these Muslim animals. It brought back memories of Colin Powell igniting his own political funeral pyre at the UN with his 'rock-hard' proof of the existence of WMD.
Geo. W.'s handlers placed this in 'number 20' of his 35-paragraphed speech: “Al Qaeda has helped make Anbar the most violent area of Iraq outside the capital. A captured al Qaeda document describes the terrorists' plan to infiltrate and seize control of the province.”
"Al Qaeda"?
Where did "al Qaeda" in Iraq come from?
The same place where "WMD" and Powell' maps were manufactured?
What "captured al Qaeda document"?
If Bush had been serious about fighting "al Qaeda" in the first place, he would have invaded Pakistan and Saudi Arabia a long time ago.
‘Pakistan’ is one of al Qaeda's chief providers of training grounds and refuge.
‘Saudi Arabia’ does the bankrolling from their profits on exporting oil to the US to feed ' the American dream '.
I wish that Bush would stop mustering up new/old reasons why he is draining the US treasury and those of his coalition members and come clean with The True Reason why the United States of America and others did their initial invasion in the Land of the Euphrates in the first place. "Spheres of Influence" are not as sexy as "WMD", creating a "democracy" or fighting "al Qaeda".
POSTSCRIPT: Reminiscent of the Colin Powell wrecking his life's credibility and career in his famous WMD address to the UN, amazingly, Bush’s entire Iraq t-v speech was distortedly-based on “terrorism”.
Proof?
George, the apparent, willing, mouth-piece of the US military-industrial complex, managed to pronouce the word “terrorists” 13-times, “al Qaeda” 9-times and “extremists” 6-times. He and his money-making handlers were attempting to paint a picture to justify placing 22,000 more, young American in ‘harms way’.
It must have taken genius writers in the White House to have George W. avoid usng the words "civil war". Not once did Bush use them thoughout his entire, televised address.
All of a sudden, something that was not previously in 'the mix', reborn "al Qaeda", became Enemy # 1.
Oh yes, the Democrats of the US Senate and House of Representatives immediately feigned opposition, while in their hearts they were looking to grab the next 'budget appropriation' for their area. More than in any country in the world, in the USA, politics is 'local'.
If you are a mere, political junkie, it just doesn't get better.
If you are a 'cynical' political junkie, it does.
Tighten your safety belts.
There is more to come.
This will be one hell of a ride.
George's 'reason # 4' will follow the next (overdue) terrorist attack on the US mainland by the Sons of Prophet Muhammad on their world-wide jihad, their holy war of death against all non-believers.
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