Survey Says Iraqis Want U.S. Out of Their Country
A survey of the Iraqi people just released by WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) shows that most Iraqis support insurgent attacks on American troops and the majority of those polled want the U.S. out of their country.
What a coincidence: Every poll done in the United States in recent months shows that Americans also want us the hell out of Iraq. The only people who seem deaf to this are George W. Bush, his administration and the bulk of Congressional Republicans.
The WPO poll, which took place in September, showed that 71 percent of the Iraqi people want the U.S. military occupation to end within a year, with 61 percent of them favoring violence against our troops.
"Support for attacks on U.S.-led forces has grown to a majority position—now six in ten," said the WPO's formal report on the survey. "Support appears to be related to widespread perception, held by all ethnic groups, that the U.S. government plans to have permanent military bases in Iraq and would not withdraw its forces from Iraq even if the Iraqi government asked it to. If the U.S. were to commit to withdraw, more than half of those who approve of attacks on US troops say that their support for attacks would diminish."
Other poll results:
Of course, George W. Bush said on his trip to Southeast-Asia this week that the lesson he believes America should observe from the catastrophic Vietnam war and apply to Iraq is that “we’ll succeed, unless we quit.”
Which is why, despite the opinions of most Iraqis, most Americans and the clear mandate of our midterm elections, Bush continues to oppose a timetable for bringing our troops home.
When Bush gets back to Washington, he should go visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, look at the 58,000 names of our war dead there and ask himself how many of those would be alive and nearing retirement age right now if we had not "stayed the course" in another war for so many years.
But I feel confident he would miss that lesson as well.
What a coincidence: Every poll done in the United States in recent months shows that Americans also want us the hell out of Iraq. The only people who seem deaf to this are George W. Bush, his administration and the bulk of Congressional Republicans.
The WPO poll, which took place in September, showed that 71 percent of the Iraqi people want the U.S. military occupation to end within a year, with 61 percent of them favoring violence against our troops.
"Support for attacks on U.S.-led forces has grown to a majority position—now six in ten," said the WPO's formal report on the survey. "Support appears to be related to widespread perception, held by all ethnic groups, that the U.S. government plans to have permanent military bases in Iraq and would not withdraw its forces from Iraq even if the Iraqi government asked it to. If the U.S. were to commit to withdraw, more than half of those who approve of attacks on US troops say that their support for attacks would diminish."
Other poll results:
- 58 percent of Iraqis said inter-ethnic violence would decrease if the U.S.-led forces pulled out.
- 78 percent of respondents say that U.S. military presence is “provoking more conflict than it is preventing.”
- 53 percent believe a U.S. timeline to withdraw would strengthen, not weaken, the Iraqi government.
Of course, George W. Bush said on his trip to Southeast-Asia this week that the lesson he believes America should observe from the catastrophic Vietnam war and apply to Iraq is that “we’ll succeed, unless we quit.”
Which is why, despite the opinions of most Iraqis, most Americans and the clear mandate of our midterm elections, Bush continues to oppose a timetable for bringing our troops home.
When Bush gets back to Washington, he should go visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, look at the 58,000 names of our war dead there and ask himself how many of those would be alive and nearing retirement age right now if we had not "stayed the course" in another war for so many years.
But I feel confident he would miss that lesson as well.
posted by Bob Geiger at 11/22/2006 09:39:00 AM
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