Media: African News Dimension www.andnetwork.com
Byline: n/a
Date: October 25, 2006


An overwhelming majority, 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the
U.S. should exit the country within the year. Among Reserves 90% favor
withdrawal compared to 83% of the National Guard, 70% of the Army, and 58%
of the Marines. Moreover, about three-quarters of National Guard and Reserve
units favor withdrawal within 6 months.

A poll by La Moyne College and Zogby of active duty troops in Iraq shows a
huge disconnect between the Commander in Chief and his troops in battle. It
is evident that the President views the war very differently then the troops
on the ground. The loss of the troops may be the final straw in the illegal
occupation turned into a failed war. The foreign policy establishment had
already told the President they thought the Iraq War was a mistake. The
people have been saying the war was a mistake. All that is left are
President Bush and the hawkish leaders of the two parties - only they are
calling for staying the course or sending more troops. Support for rapid
withdrawal in the Zogby survey of troops, three-quarters of whom had served
two or more tours of duty, was even higher than among the U.S. public. A
majority of the US public (almost 60%) now believes that the troops should
be withdrawn this year. Moreover, almost half of the public say that the US
should never have invaded and troops should be withdrawn immediately. The
view of the troops is more in accord with that of Democrat or progressive
voters, 80% of whom favor rapid withdrawal. In contrast Republican voters
(41%) are less inclined for withdrawal. Support for the administrations'
performance in Iraq is waning among military officers as well
http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2005_main.php . The poll also shows that
the troops are confused by the mission in Iraq. Forty-two percent
acknowledge their confusion. And, while 58% think they know why they are
there in fact they are acting on inaccurate information. When troops are
asked why they are in Iraq, 85% said it was "to retaliate for Saddam's roll
in the 9-11 attacks" - when in fact Sadam had no role in 9-11. And, 77% of
soldiers thought it was "to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq" -
again Sadam and al Qaeda were never allies, indeed they were enemies, the
latter secular and the former religious. The troops have figured out that
they are not there for the reason stated by the President - 93% recognize
they are not there to remove weapons of mass destruction. The vast majority
(76%) also do not believe that the United States is establishing a democracy
that can be a model for the Arab world. But they do not accept that securing
oil was the major purpose - only 11% accept that rationale. Sadly, the
Pentagon dismissed the findings saying "It shouldn't surprise anybody that a
deployed soldier would rather be at home than deployed." And, "I don't think
anybody is getting alarmed over any one poll." The message they are sending
to the soldiers is that their commanders are not listening to the troops on
the ground. The Zogby Poll http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075

Iraq illegal war by all acounts and the troops see for what it is a mess no wonder most feel they were not really told why we invaded.

This is rather contradictory to almost all previous polls and my own experiences talking to those who have served/are serving in Iraq.

It all depends on how the question was worded. It also does not say how many troops were asked and how those asked were chosen. All of these are very important to determine the validity of poll results. I remember that much from my psych courses. And since when does it matter what the troops want? Has the military become a democracy?