Polls show softening support for war in Iraq: Well, who the hell likes war?
Recent polls on the Iraq war show most Americans want some or most U.S. troops to come home. Hey, so do I!
Recent polls on the Iraq war show most Americans don’t like war. Hey, neither do I!
But are Americans committed to guiding Iraq to democracy to prevent another Saddam Hussein from coming back to haunt us and the Iraqi people? That question wasn’t asked in the polls. But yes, we Americans do want to win this war, the sooner, the better.
The miserable present. As David Brooks writes today in The New York Times:
“There’s a reason George Washington didn’t take a poll at Valley Forge. There are times in the course of war when the outcome is simply unknowable. Victory is clearly not imminent, yet people haven’t really thought through the consequences of defeat. Everybody just wants the miserable present to go away. …
“We’re at one of those moments in the war against the insurgency in Iraq. The polls show rising disenchantment with the war. Sixty percent of Americans say they want to withdraw some or all troops.
“Yet I can’t believe majorities of Americans really want to pull out and accept defeat. I can’t believe they want to abandon to the Zarqawis and the Baathists those 8.5 million Iraqis who held up purple fingers on Election Day. I can’t believe they are yet ready to accept a terrorist-run state in the heart of the Middle East, a civil war in Iraq, the crushing of democratic hopes in places like Egypt and Iran, and the ruinous consequences for American power and prestige.
“What they want to do, more likely, is somehow escape the current moment, which is discouraging and uncertain.”
Exactly.
The gas factor. Factor in gasoline prices, too. Today’s mild discontentment with the Iraq war has little to do with the Iraq war, which seems on a generally successful path. It has a lot to do with gasoline prices.
When Americans see gas prices rising well above $2 a gallon, they’re mildly upset about everything. When gas prices stabilize, Americans are more likely to look at everything a little more optimistically. President Bush’s calls to save Social Security also are doing badly. The skepticism has little to do with the controversial privatized accounts. It’s gas. Polls go down as gas prices go up.
On Iraq, Bush probably could communicate more clearly what conditions would allow for the beginning of U.S. troop withdrawals. But I doubt it would matter much. People have a pretty good idea of our progress in Iraq and the uncertainties there.
For freedom. The polls will vary. When Saddam is caught, they jumped high. When Abu Ghraib was revealed, they dipped. When the Iraqis courageously voted, the fight was popular again. Then came more bloodshed, often obscuring monumental gains. And high gas prices, muddling our minds.
No one wants to say a war was worth fighting until the war is over and the results are clear. So don’t poll us now. The only thing anyone likes about a war is ending it, and the only way to end a war right is to win it for freedom.
Frank Warner
Politicians are stupid and crooked, including the those in the USA.
Case in point:
the introduction of a bill by Congress to exert pressure on China to revalue (appreciate the Yuan) or face high tariffs on China's exports to the USA. All because the of a huge trade deficit (recall who is financing the American debt by by those securities - treasury and equities, China $200billion, Jpy $1trillion, Euro $2trillion all USD). Those idiotic congressmen don't know the basic economic prinicples and they are enacting a bill. (I don't want to go further into details, but let me say that even Greenspan and Snow do not advocate such a bill).
So my point is can you believe your administration for picking on Iraqi? What has Saddam done to the USA directly? Aren't there greater evils out there (this is just a refute to the USA argument for war)like Iran/Syria/N.Korean? So just don't believe those war hawk idiots (Rumpy and Stumpy, er...i mean Cheney). Hey, Warner, try being in the shoe of the character played by Tom Cruise in the "4th of July."
Posted by: Red Star | June 24, 2005 at 03:44 PM
It's the chickenhawk argument again. A personal attack, because their position and facts are weak. Don't give this guy/gal the time of day.
Posted by: chad | June 28, 2005 at 03:43 PM
Moron, you just did.
Posted by: Red Star | June 28, 2005 at 04:55 PM
Red slur,
Politicians may be stupid and crooked, but what's the alternative? Non-political tyrants? Or maybe someone all-knowing, such as yourself?
Posted by: jj mollo | June 29, 2005 at 12:35 AM
One solution is to educated morons like you who follow your leader blindly.
Posted by: Red Star | June 30, 2005 at 11:51 AM
And who do you follow O Deep Thought? Where are your loyalties?
Posted by: jj mollo | June 30, 2005 at 05:54 PM