Posted on 06/09/2006 5:42:25 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback
The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that many Americans perceive the alleged atrocities against Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces as isolated incidents while saying the U.S.-led invasion was a mistake, an unusual disconnect that sets this conflict apart from Vietnam.
The survey of 1,003 adults was completed Wednesday, shortly before the announcement that U.S. airstrikes had killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq, and the Iraqi parliament's approval of candidates for ministers in charge of the army and police.
It remains to be seen how those events could affect opinion, especially among a public paying close attention to war dispatches.
Some 76 percent of those questioned said they were following reports about allegations that U.S. troops killed unarmed Iraqi civilians.
The military is investigating reports that a small number of Marines murdered 24 Iraqi civilians — including unarmed women and children — in the town of Haditha on Nov. 19. It also is conducting a probe of an incident in Hamdaniya following allegations that Marines pulled an unarmed Iraqi man from his home on April 26 and shot him to death without provocation.
Regardless of whether the allegations turn out to be true, 63 percent of those surveyed said they thought the killings of civilians were isolated incidents. That view was especially true among Americans over 35, whites and those living in the South, where the military has a strong presence.
"I think they're doing everything possible to avoid such things," said Christine Berchelmann, a retired nurse and Republican-leaning independent from San Antonio. "The people they are seeking out, they are in dwellings right in the middle of all these civilians. There are always going to be casualties."
Sixty-one percent in the survey said the military is doing all it can to avoid killing Iraqi civilians.
While the AP poll found that most Americans are willing to give U.S. troops the benefit of the doubt, their misgivings about the war and the prospect of Iraq establishing a stable, democratic government are growing.
Fifty-nine percent said the United States made a mistake in going to war, a new high and a significant jump from the 34 percent in December 2004.
"The biggest mistake was going into Iraq," said David Smith, 38, a salesman from Springfield, Mo., and Democrat who leans independent. "If hindsight was 20-20, they should have thought about the repercussions."
Despite President Bush's pronouncements about Iraq setting up a viable government, only 44 percent of those polled said it was likely they would see a stable government in Baghdad. It was a new low in the survey.
"I think this is the first time in recorded history where the American people wholeheartedly support the troops and support for the mission is waning," said Rep. Ike Skelton (news, bio, voting record) of Missouri, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
The 15-term lawmaker cited the greater involvement of the National Guard and Reserves in the war. Some 25,000 members of the Guard and Reserve are in Iraq among the 132,000 U.S. troops.
"People have a neighbor or a cousin," Skelton said.
During Vietnam, growing opposition to the war paralleled disenchantment with American forces, many of whom had been drafted to serve. The conflict dragged on more than a decade, more than 50,000 Americans were killed and the U.S. departed Saigon in April 1975 as the communists prevailed.
Capturing the public consciousness during Vietnam was the My Lai massacre, in which U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of innocent civilians in 1968.
In Iraq, the military has relied on an all-volunteer force of trained professionals.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said it is possible to oppose the war but "nonetheless see the military as divorced from that. The military is our sons and daughters and, of course, we wouldn't systematically engage in something that defiles American values."
Rep. John Kline (news, bio, voting record), R-Minn., said he was not surprised "that the American people believe in the fundamental goodness of the American soldiers." Kline, a member of the Armed Services Committee, described the current troops as the "best we've ever had."
The survey also found that the war continues to take a toll on the public's view of Bush. Approval of the president was at 35 percent, essentially unchanged from his rating of 33 percent last month based on the poll's margin of error of 3 percentage points.
His handling of Iraq and foreign policy and the fight against terrorism hit new lows: Just 33 percent approved of his actions on Iraq and 39 percent on the commander in chief's fight against terrorism.
People had an even lower opinion of the Republican-controlled Congress. Only 24 percent approved of the way it's doing its job, essentially unchanged from last month but still a new low.
Fifty-two percent want Democrats to capture control of Congress in November, about the same as last month's poll.
___
Associated Press writer Will Lester contributed to this report.
I wonder what the poll numbers actually are if you take out all urban numbers. We all know those are lost causes. They swing so hard to the left, they are not even worth sampling.
The Lame Stream Media just shows how lame it is and how it likes to blame the innocent for their mistakes...
Kerry supports the troops. Murtha supports the troops. Cindy Sheehan supports the troops.
Oh really? So he could be at 41%, and this is BEFORE the Zarqari "hit?" Which means he could be in the mid-40s. I'd call that a pretty significant increase over 33%. But Will Lester won't.
This poll is nothing more than attempt by the MSM to justify the nonsensical and political position held by the Left that you can support the troops but not the mission.
My wife is a nurse. I gave her my support during nursing school, and she graduated with honors. I support her honorable career choice and work.
Now imagine that somebody comes to me, a person who I know desn't like her, and says, "The last five people who died in your wife's ward died because she killed them with lethal injections." now imagine that I not only buy that story instantly without seeing any evidence, but I repeat it to whoever will listen and call for my wife to be fired because these murders obviously show that her time as a nurse is a failure.
How supportive will she think I am? Oh, about as supportive as the three people you listed!
Yes, but it's posted to dissect and so we can know our enemy, not because I think it's solid data.
Turn it up loud, baby.
Only the America-hating, left wing could find an "unusual disconnect" in the dual perceptions that (1) the alleged atrocities against Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces were isolated incidents and (2) the U.S.-led invasion was a mistake. Why would any one with a brain call that an "unusual disconnect"? I certainly don't think the invasion was a mistake; but if I did, there is no reason why that would lead me to think the alleged atrocities were not isolated. Simply amazing.
That was great. My only regret is that we left enough of that creep to even identify.
I wonder how many polled... are citizens.
"described the current troops as the "best we've ever had." "
Technically/intellectually I agree...but the PC nature of the military has changed some of its effectiveness
Dead on common sense.
The best "poll" is the fact that we have an all-volunteer military which is representative of the general public. What more needs to be said?
But given the option of evil people like Saddam, Usama and al Zarqawi merging....and hitting us way beyond the 9-11 devastation, we did the right thing in going into Iraq.
Saddam was VERY, VERY close to getting out from under the UN sanctions. Saddam would have taken out all the Kurds to make room for Usama. Where did Josef go after the 1993 bombing of the towers?
Smooth kills...courtesy of your United states Air Force.
This writer is making things up -- putting his own subjective impressions in an article as if they were fact.
That was a joke.....right?
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