Tessy
03-23-2008, 06:49 AM
Seventy-two percent of troops on the ground in Iraq think U.S. military forces should get out of the country! This is according to a Zogby poll released about one month ago.
The survey of 944 troops, conducted in Iraq between Jan. 18 and Feb. 14, said that only 23 percent of service members thought U.S. forces should stay “as long as they are needed.” LOL!!! Kinda blows away some of the ridiculous arguments I'm hearing here at this site from people pretending to speak for the troops.
Of the 72 percent, 22 percent said troops should leave within the next six months, and 29 percent said they should withdraw “immediately.” Twenty-one percent said the U.S. military presence should end within a year; 5 percent weren’t sure when but just thought total withdrawal was the best thing.
Of course bozos calling themselves "policy experts" in the media try to spin it - I guess for the continued approval of the few remaining brainwashed gun-ho fools.
Justin Logan, a perfect example calling himself a "foreign policy analyst" for the Cato Institute, called the figure alarming, and a sign that the Bush administration and troops in Iraq see the goals and the progress of the war very differently. LOL, like it's just a big misunderstanding and only a lack of communication... Hehehhee.
The president has opposed any plans for a withdrawal date, saying troops will remain until Iraq’s security is assured. Logan sees so many troops recommending absolute withdrawal as showing “an alarming disconnect” between the policy and its implementation. He obviously doesn't seem to understand that in-country troops know what they're saying and why they are saying it.
But Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, called those who support withdrawal scared and inferred they were cowards saying: troops who say the U.S. should withdraw could be concerned for their own safety, and then tried to spin it and cover himself all at once saying: or they could be optimistic about progress so far, then admitted under his breath and lastly as if it were nearly impossible admitting: or they could simply be opposed to the idea of operations in Iraq.
“You have to pick apart each servicemember’s thought process to understand what that means,” he said. “I think this is about personal circumstances, and not proof there is a higher rate of troops who desire departure.”
Defense Department officials declined to comment on the poll at all.
John Zogby, CEO of the polling company, said the poll was funded through Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies. Zogby said the survey was conducted face-to-face throughout Iraq, with permission from commanders. Despite the difficulty of polling in a war zone, he said, pollsters were pleased with the results.
“This is a credible and representative look at what the troops are saying,” he said. “Clearly there are those [in the U.S.] who will speak for the troops, so there is a real value in seeing what they are actually saying.”
The poll also shows that 42 percent of the troops surveyed are unsure of their mission in Iraq, and that 85 percent believe a major reason they were sent into war was “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the Sept. 11 attacks.” Ninety-three percent said finding and destroying weapons of mass destruction is not a reason for the ongoing military action.
“We were surprised by that, especially the 85 percent [figure],” Zogby said. “Clearly that is much higher than the consensus among the American public, and the public’s perception [on that topic] is much higher than the actual reality of the situation.”
In terms of current operations, 80 percent of those polled said they did not hold a negative view of all Iraqis because of the ongoing attacks against coalition military forces.
More than 43 percent of those polled said their equipment, such as Humvees, body armor and munitions, is adequate for the jobs facing them, while 30 percent said it is not. I guess you can tell which group has been fired on. :D
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. and chairman of the Victory in Iraq Caucus, a group of 118 Republican lawmakers, said the poll does not diminish his opinion of the importance of the armed forces role in Iraq. This is not much different than Nam where the war-hawks seemed committed to sacrificing as many American lives as it took in order to secure an environment in which American corporations could thrive.
“Whatever the percentages are, I know 100 percent of our troops want to complete their mission over there,” he said. “My view is, whatever the poll results say, the bottom line is these are troops who will continue their mission, because they would rather fight the enemy overseas than at home.”
Of those surveyed, 75 percent have served multiple tours in Iraq, 63 percent were under 30 years old, and 75 percent were male.
The survey of 944 troops, conducted in Iraq between Jan. 18 and Feb. 14, said that only 23 percent of service members thought U.S. forces should stay “as long as they are needed.” LOL!!! Kinda blows away some of the ridiculous arguments I'm hearing here at this site from people pretending to speak for the troops.
Of the 72 percent, 22 percent said troops should leave within the next six months, and 29 percent said they should withdraw “immediately.” Twenty-one percent said the U.S. military presence should end within a year; 5 percent weren’t sure when but just thought total withdrawal was the best thing.
Of course bozos calling themselves "policy experts" in the media try to spin it - I guess for the continued approval of the few remaining brainwashed gun-ho fools.
Justin Logan, a perfect example calling himself a "foreign policy analyst" for the Cato Institute, called the figure alarming, and a sign that the Bush administration and troops in Iraq see the goals and the progress of the war very differently. LOL, like it's just a big misunderstanding and only a lack of communication... Hehehhee.
The president has opposed any plans for a withdrawal date, saying troops will remain until Iraq’s security is assured. Logan sees so many troops recommending absolute withdrawal as showing “an alarming disconnect” between the policy and its implementation. He obviously doesn't seem to understand that in-country troops know what they're saying and why they are saying it.
But Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, called those who support withdrawal scared and inferred they were cowards saying: troops who say the U.S. should withdraw could be concerned for their own safety, and then tried to spin it and cover himself all at once saying: or they could be optimistic about progress so far, then admitted under his breath and lastly as if it were nearly impossible admitting: or they could simply be opposed to the idea of operations in Iraq.
“You have to pick apart each servicemember’s thought process to understand what that means,” he said. “I think this is about personal circumstances, and not proof there is a higher rate of troops who desire departure.”
Defense Department officials declined to comment on the poll at all.
John Zogby, CEO of the polling company, said the poll was funded through Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies. Zogby said the survey was conducted face-to-face throughout Iraq, with permission from commanders. Despite the difficulty of polling in a war zone, he said, pollsters were pleased with the results.
“This is a credible and representative look at what the troops are saying,” he said. “Clearly there are those [in the U.S.] who will speak for the troops, so there is a real value in seeing what they are actually saying.”
The poll also shows that 42 percent of the troops surveyed are unsure of their mission in Iraq, and that 85 percent believe a major reason they were sent into war was “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the Sept. 11 attacks.” Ninety-three percent said finding and destroying weapons of mass destruction is not a reason for the ongoing military action.
“We were surprised by that, especially the 85 percent [figure],” Zogby said. “Clearly that is much higher than the consensus among the American public, and the public’s perception [on that topic] is much higher than the actual reality of the situation.”
In terms of current operations, 80 percent of those polled said they did not hold a negative view of all Iraqis because of the ongoing attacks against coalition military forces.
More than 43 percent of those polled said their equipment, such as Humvees, body armor and munitions, is adequate for the jobs facing them, while 30 percent said it is not. I guess you can tell which group has been fired on. :D
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. and chairman of the Victory in Iraq Caucus, a group of 118 Republican lawmakers, said the poll does not diminish his opinion of the importance of the armed forces role in Iraq. This is not much different than Nam where the war-hawks seemed committed to sacrificing as many American lives as it took in order to secure an environment in which American corporations could thrive.
“Whatever the percentages are, I know 100 percent of our troops want to complete their mission over there,” he said. “My view is, whatever the poll results say, the bottom line is these are troops who will continue their mission, because they would rather fight the enemy overseas than at home.”
Of those surveyed, 75 percent have served multiple tours in Iraq, 63 percent were under 30 years old, and 75 percent were male.