Post by RPankn on Apr 21, 2004 4:13:21 GMT -5
RPankn's Note: This article is based on a poll, which, of course, probably cannot be relied on to give an accurate measure of public sentiment. However, this article raises a question for me which has been on my mind for some time now, and that is: what will it honestly take for Americans to be convinced that Iraq was a completely unnecessary war and never should have happened in the first place?
I guess it's being in Florida that makes asking this question seem like it's almost a lost cause. The local rightwing rag, the Tampa Tribune, published a poll last week which showed that 35% of Floridians still believe WMDs will be found. Thirty freakin' five percent! And something like 65% still believe Bush was misled into the war by "bad intelligence." Is it that people are just dumb or they're not paying attention? And ask any of the Democratic candidates for Bob Graham's Senate seat about the Iraq war and none of them question the premise for it. In fact, they all think it was a good idea and would have voted for it!
I guess it's a rhetorical question I'm asking, but anyone who has any idea, feel free to answer because I'm at a loss. Anyway, here's the article:
Americans Squirm as U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Surges
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. troops are dying in higher numbers in Iraq (news - web sites) this month than at any time during the war, with polls showing rising unease among Americans over the mounting death toll and doubts about the conflict's merits.
At least 106 U.S. troops have died in April amid fierce attacks by insurgents in both Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite regions -- far more than any month since the U.S.-led invasion to oust President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). The previous peak was 82 deaths in November during an earlier spike in attacks by insurgents.
In 13 months of military involvement in Iraq, 709 Americans have been killed in Iraq, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said on Tuesday.
The death toll in the first three weeks of April has about matched the 109 killed in combat from the March 2003 start of the invasion until President Bush (news - web sites) declared an end to "major combat" operations six weeks later. Bush made that declaration aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln standing in front of a banner stating, "Mission Accomplished."
In a Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,201 U.S. adults published on Tuesday, 65 percent said there had been an "unacceptable" number of U.S. military casualties while 33 percent said the level was "acceptable."
Analysts said the mounting U.S. death toll illustrates the rising difficulty of the military task and threatens to undermine public support for Bush's Iraq policies during a presidential election year.
'DOESN'T BODE WELL'
"What it shows is that the breadth of the insurgency is increasing, that our troops are confronting firefights on multiple fronts, and the sophistication of the insurgents is growing," said Cato Institute defense analyst Ted Carpenter.
"This doesn't bode well for the fate of our mission, unfortunately."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has expressed surprise at the recent level of U.S. military deaths in Iraq.
"We're in a different phase of the war now," said Army Lt. Col. James Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman. "Major combat operations resulted in the decisive defeat of Saddam Hussein's forces, while operations since represent a different kind of war."
Cassella said the death toll "strengthens our resolve" to complete the Iraq mission.
Duke University political scientist Peter Feaver said polls have indicated dropping public confidence about prospects for eventual victory in Iraq.
"The long pole in the tent for public stomach for military operations is expectations of victory," Feaver said. "That's more important than the human costs or the financial costs. The public will pay those costs when they think victory is likely. And they will not pay when they think victory is not likely."
Feaver cited a poll of 1,267 Americans released last week by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center in which a majority, 51 percent, said the situation in Iraq was not worth going to war over, while 43 percent said it was worth it.
Carpenter said the Bush administration was in "a very delicate position," like the one encountered by President Lyndon Johnson early in the Vietnam War.
"Much like Lyndon Johnson's administration in 1964 and early 1965, it faces a fundamental choice: Does it escalate in an effort to salvage the mission? Or does it try to wind down this mission, declare 'victory' and go home? I certainly hope that this administration profits from Johnson's experience."
Johnson poured U.S. forces into Vietnam in an ultimately failed war in which 58,000 American troops were killed.
Link: story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040420/us_nm/iraq_usa_toll_dc&cid=1896&ncid=1480
I guess it's being in Florida that makes asking this question seem like it's almost a lost cause. The local rightwing rag, the Tampa Tribune, published a poll last week which showed that 35% of Floridians still believe WMDs will be found. Thirty freakin' five percent! And something like 65% still believe Bush was misled into the war by "bad intelligence." Is it that people are just dumb or they're not paying attention? And ask any of the Democratic candidates for Bob Graham's Senate seat about the Iraq war and none of them question the premise for it. In fact, they all think it was a good idea and would have voted for it!
I guess it's a rhetorical question I'm asking, but anyone who has any idea, feel free to answer because I'm at a loss. Anyway, here's the article:
Americans Squirm as U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Surges
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. troops are dying in higher numbers in Iraq (news - web sites) this month than at any time during the war, with polls showing rising unease among Americans over the mounting death toll and doubts about the conflict's merits.
At least 106 U.S. troops have died in April amid fierce attacks by insurgents in both Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite regions -- far more than any month since the U.S.-led invasion to oust President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). The previous peak was 82 deaths in November during an earlier spike in attacks by insurgents.
In 13 months of military involvement in Iraq, 709 Americans have been killed in Iraq, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said on Tuesday.
The death toll in the first three weeks of April has about matched the 109 killed in combat from the March 2003 start of the invasion until President Bush (news - web sites) declared an end to "major combat" operations six weeks later. Bush made that declaration aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln standing in front of a banner stating, "Mission Accomplished."
In a Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,201 U.S. adults published on Tuesday, 65 percent said there had been an "unacceptable" number of U.S. military casualties while 33 percent said the level was "acceptable."
Analysts said the mounting U.S. death toll illustrates the rising difficulty of the military task and threatens to undermine public support for Bush's Iraq policies during a presidential election year.
'DOESN'T BODE WELL'
"What it shows is that the breadth of the insurgency is increasing, that our troops are confronting firefights on multiple fronts, and the sophistication of the insurgents is growing," said Cato Institute defense analyst Ted Carpenter.
"This doesn't bode well for the fate of our mission, unfortunately."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has expressed surprise at the recent level of U.S. military deaths in Iraq.
"We're in a different phase of the war now," said Army Lt. Col. James Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman. "Major combat operations resulted in the decisive defeat of Saddam Hussein's forces, while operations since represent a different kind of war."
Cassella said the death toll "strengthens our resolve" to complete the Iraq mission.
Duke University political scientist Peter Feaver said polls have indicated dropping public confidence about prospects for eventual victory in Iraq.
"The long pole in the tent for public stomach for military operations is expectations of victory," Feaver said. "That's more important than the human costs or the financial costs. The public will pay those costs when they think victory is likely. And they will not pay when they think victory is not likely."
Feaver cited a poll of 1,267 Americans released last week by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center in which a majority, 51 percent, said the situation in Iraq was not worth going to war over, while 43 percent said it was worth it.
Carpenter said the Bush administration was in "a very delicate position," like the one encountered by President Lyndon Johnson early in the Vietnam War.
"Much like Lyndon Johnson's administration in 1964 and early 1965, it faces a fundamental choice: Does it escalate in an effort to salvage the mission? Or does it try to wind down this mission, declare 'victory' and go home? I certainly hope that this administration profits from Johnson's experience."
Johnson poured U.S. forces into Vietnam in an ultimately failed war in which 58,000 American troops were killed.
Link: story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040420/us_nm/iraq_usa_toll_dc&cid=1896&ncid=1480
