[Vision2020] Poll: Most Troops Want Rapid Pullout From Iraq

[Tom Hansen]

>From the March 13, 2006 edition of the Army Times (www.ArmyTimes.com) -

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Poll: Most troops want rapid pullout from Iraq

By Gordon Trowbridge
Times staff writer 

Nearly three-fourths of U.S. troops now serving in Iraq favor a military
pullout from that country within a year, according to a survey of service
members at four U.S. bases there.

The survey of 944 U.S. troops in Iraq, conducted in late January and early
February by pollster John Zogby, also found more than 40 percent of troops
said they are unclear on the goals of the U.S. mission in Iraq. But most
said they generally believe their equipment is up to the task.

While the poll is likely to add to the debate over U.S. policy in Iraq,
public opinion experts said they were hesitant to interpret the results
because Zogby has not released important details about the survey's
methodology.

Zogby, who polls for media organizations that include NBC, has said only
that the poll was conducted at four large U.S. bases in Iraq. Citing
concerns about the security of those who conducted the face-to-face
interviews with surveyed troops, he has not publicly disclosed who conducted
the surveys or which bases were involved.

"He's come up with a really creative solution" to the challenge of polling
deployed troops, said Mark Blumenthal, a Washington-based pollster who said
he had discussed some of the details of the poll with Zogby. He said that
while he thinks Zogby's reasons for withholding the information are
understandable, the decision makes it difficult for the public to assess the
poll's validity.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he wasn't familiar with the specifics
of the poll but said the results aren't surprising.

"Service members deployed would obviously, even when they understand the
importance of what they're doing, rather be home," Whitman said. "I don't
think anybody is getting alarmed over any one poll."

Whitman said the Defense Department has guidelines for polling troops but
that he was still learning how the poll was conducted. He said he was not
aware of any military assistance in conducting the poll, which was sponsored
by the Center for Peace and Global Studies at Le Moyne College in Syracuse,
N.Y.

Among its findings:

. Only 23 percent of troops said U.S. military forces should stay in Iraq
"as long as they are needed," and 29 percent supported an immediate pullout.

. Confusion appears to exist among troops about the reasons for the U.S
presence. Fifty-eight percent said the U.S. mission in Iraq is clear in
their minds; 42 percent said it was somewhat or very unclear to them.
Eighty-five percent said they believed a major reason for the war was "to
retaliate for Saddam's role in the 9/11 attacks," even though the idea that
Iraq participated in the attacks has been discredited.

. A slight majority, 53 percent, agreed that the U.S. should double the
number of troops and bombing missions in Iraq to control insurgents.

. Just 13 percent said it was mostly or definitely true that insurgent
attacks had made them view the Iraqi people negatively.

. Forty-four percent said it was definitely or mostly true that the Pentagon
had provided them with adequate equipment, while 30 percent called that
statement mostly or definitely false.

. There were significant differences of opinion between soldiers and
Marines. Active-duty soldiers were three times as likely as Marines to call
for an immediate pullout. And though just 19 percent of soldiers said they
were very clear on their understanding of the U.S. mission in Iraq, 70
percent of Marines said they were very clear.

Richard Eichenberg, a professor at Tufts University whose research focuses
on public opinion in issues of war and peace, said unanswered questions
about the methods used in the poll made interpreting the results difficult.

"The purist in me says, in the final analysis, we probably shouldn't draw
any strong conclusions," Eichenberg said. 

Still, Eichenberg said he expects the survey to add to calls for a
withdrawal from Iraq.

"We really are reaching the point where the country, the administration, the
services, citizens, all have to face the question of how long and under what
conditions we stay," he said. 

Staff writer Gordon Lubold contributed to this report.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

********************************************

"In America, anybody can become president.  
That's one of the risks you take . . ."

- Adlai Stevenson

********************************************