US support for the war in Iraq collapsing, poll shows
MOST Americans no longer believe the war in Iraq has made their country safer, and more than 60pc of the country believes the military is bogged down in a conflict that was not worth fighting in the first place, according to a new opinion poll offering only bad news to the Bush administration.
The poll for 'The Washington Post' and ABC News, published yesterday, was the first survey in which a majority of Americans rejected the White House's argument that invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein was good for domestic security.
The poll also suggested that opinions were almost exactly evenly divided between those with a positive impression of President Bush's 'war on terror' and those who viewed it negatively.
The findings were particularly stunning, since security was among the leading issues on which Mr Bush won re-election last November. At that time, his approval ratings on anti-terrorism policy were roughly 60-40.
The poll also reflects a broader dissatisfaction with the second Bush administration. Almost every issue on which the White House has focused in recent months - social security reform, salvaging its most extreme judicial nominations, agitating to keep the comatose Terri Schiavo alive against the wishes of her husband - has proved unpopular. If Mr Bush's ratings on the terrorism question have fallen, it is in part because he has barely mentioned the topic.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon's recruiting crisis has deepened with new figures showing that the US Army has failed to meet its target for the fourth consecutive month.
The sense of drift in Iraq is underlined by the absence of a US ambassador in Baghdad for almost six months. The Senate is holding confirmation hearings for Zalmay Khalilzad, who is to replace John Negroponte, who became intelligence czar. The Army's admission that it missed its recruiting target for May by 25pc is even worse than it seems. Weeks earlier, army chiefs revised their May target from 8,000 troops to 6,700. They attracted just over 5,000 recruits; 63pc of their original goal.
The Army is now 8,300 soldiers behind where it hoped to be by this time of the year. Its annual target is to send 80,000 recruits a year to boot camp. US officials said that they hoped to make up the number in the summer when recruiting was traditionally easier, but there is anxiety about the effect of Iraq on their ability to attract the next generation of soldiers. (© Independent News Service)
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=30&si=1412595&issue_id=12589
MOST Americans no longer believe the war in Iraq has made their country safer, and more than 60pc of the country believes the military is bogged down in a conflict that was not worth fighting in the first place, according to a new opinion poll offering only bad news to the Bush administration.
The poll for 'The Washington Post' and ABC News, published yesterday, was the first survey in which a majority of Americans rejected the White House's argument that invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein was good for domestic security.
The poll also suggested that opinions were almost exactly evenly divided between those with a positive impression of President Bush's 'war on terror' and those who viewed it negatively.
The findings were particularly stunning, since security was among the leading issues on which Mr Bush won re-election last November. At that time, his approval ratings on anti-terrorism policy were roughly 60-40.
The poll also reflects a broader dissatisfaction with the second Bush administration. Almost every issue on which the White House has focused in recent months - social security reform, salvaging its most extreme judicial nominations, agitating to keep the comatose Terri Schiavo alive against the wishes of her husband - has proved unpopular. If Mr Bush's ratings on the terrorism question have fallen, it is in part because he has barely mentioned the topic.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon's recruiting crisis has deepened with new figures showing that the US Army has failed to meet its target for the fourth consecutive month.
The sense of drift in Iraq is underlined by the absence of a US ambassador in Baghdad for almost six months. The Senate is holding confirmation hearings for Zalmay Khalilzad, who is to replace John Negroponte, who became intelligence czar. The Army's admission that it missed its recruiting target for May by 25pc is even worse than it seems. Weeks earlier, army chiefs revised their May target from 8,000 troops to 6,700. They attracted just over 5,000 recruits; 63pc of their original goal.
The Army is now 8,300 soldiers behind where it hoped to be by this time of the year. Its annual target is to send 80,000 recruits a year to boot camp. US officials said that they hoped to make up the number in the summer when recruiting was traditionally easier, but there is anxiety about the effect of Iraq on their ability to attract the next generation of soldiers. (© Independent News Service)
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=30&si=1412595&issue_id=12589
