Poll shows troops in support of war
By Robert Hodierne, Army Times

Despite a year of ferocious combat, mounting casualties and frequent deployments, support for the war in Iraq remains very high among the active-duty military, according to a Military Times Poll.

Sixty-three percent of respondents approve of the way President Bush is handling the war, and 60% remain convinced it is a war worth fighting.

Support for the war is even greater among those who have served longest in the combat zone: Two-thirds of combat vets say the war is worth fighting.

But the men and women in uniform are under no illusions about how long they will be fighting in Iraq; nearly half say they expect to be there more than five years.

In addition, 87%% say they're satisfied with their jobs and, if given the choice today, only 25% say they'd leave the service.

Compared with last year, the percentages for support for the war and job satisfaction remain essentially unchanged.

A year ago, 77% said they thought the military was stretched too thin to be effective. This year, that number shrank to 66%.

The findings are part of the annual Military Times Poll, which this year included 1,423 active-duty subscribers to Air Force Times, Army Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times.

The subscribers were randomly surveyed by mail in late November and early December. The poll has a margin of error of +/—2.6%.

Among the poll's other findings:

•75% oppose a military draft.

•60% blame Congress for the shortage of body armor in the combat zone.

•12% say civilian Pentagon policymakers should be held accountable for abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Contributing: The independent Military Times Media Group consists of four newspapers published by Gannett

now now now CW, you know this is all hogwash and that everyone and their mother is against this war

When it comes to support for a war, there is a sort of "critical mass" of support that is necessary, or more accurately, once a critical mass of opposition is reached, then things go downhill VERY quickly. Among the civilian population at home, I think the number would be something like 60-65% opposition, and then the numbers would begin to climb quickly and begin to actually affect the conduct of the war. Within the military, that number would have to be much lower. I'd say that if even half of the troops opposed the war, we'd be in big, big trouble.

It's good that that the troops are still holding on to their hope and faith at this point, because they will be in a world of hurt if they ever lose that. God knows reality isn't on their side.

--PunkDavid

Also:


This doesn't necessarily reflect the attitudes of troops in Iraq either. I'd be curious to know how many of those 1,423 subscribers are in Iraq currently.

All I'll say is that the Army Times wouldn't be in production much longer if their polls went the other way. I'm not saying they are incorrect, because I have no idea. Just a thought.

That, and as a former military man myself I can tell you that a pro war stance is uttered to you every day you get up. Also many soldiers are scared to present ideas that are different from their fellow soldiers for fear of being outcast. And a lot of times if you do disagree you will be outcast.

Right. That's not my point.



Again, we're not talking civilians.



Ding ding. My point.



Fuck hope and faith. What about belief? You guys tend to ignore the fact that a great majority of those guys over there believe in what they're doing, and they do it knowing it's unpopular and unwanted back here at home. Belief and sacrifice.



At least integrity is. That's a pretty low comment coming from you, PD. I'd say they face the harshest reality: war. None of us have ever been. None of us, for the most part, will ever understand.

They do it because they have to. And again, I doubt many of the 1400 or so subscribers polled are actually in the war zone, so I have to ask where your "great majority" comes from?



One would hope in this day and age that selective wars would be a thing of the past. No one should have to experience it, especially for such shady reasons as this war.

I think you completely misinterpreted my post, James. You reacted as if I called them a bunch of misguided fools who have nothing to base their opinions on but their blind faith in God and George W. Bush. That's not what I said at all.

Re-read what I wrote. I have no doubt that the soldiers believe in what they are doing, and I was serious when I said that it is a good thing that they do. Even in a war that I think is wrong on many levels, I'd certainly prefer that our troops believe in the cause that they are fighting and dying for. Because as noted, it takes a much lower threshold of discontent within the army itself to destroy morale for everyone than it does for the general population of civilians at home. I hope it never gets to that point because that is an opinion poll with real ramifications on the ground that this administration cannot afford to ignore.

So, I think it was a pretty knee-jerk response coming from you, CW.

--PD

60% brainwash rate? For the military, that's awfully low.

Exactly. The number actually participating in the Iraqi Theater would make this poll much more clear as to how those there feel about the war.



Should I post something from Truth.org now, CW?

or you could say that 40% remain convinced it is NOT a war worth fighting and that's scary.

If you are a fighter in the middle of a war, you become invested in what you are doing. How suicidal would you be if you weren't invested? In the middle of any war, no matter how valid or invalid, the overwhelming majority of people in it are going to support it. A war gives a person a sense that they are doing something important--it gives you a sense of a greater purpose, a life's purpose, if you will. You feel you are doing something right and something momentous--something honorable which will garner you lifelong respect from total strangers back home. I don't think the psychology behind a service member supporting a war, no matter how wrongheaded, is hard to comprehend. And the same type of thinking goes for someone working on the periphery of the war, too.

Very well put. Completely agree.

You have problems if you are FOR war of any kind.

thats your opinion, one that matters naught

Enough.

As a fireman puts out fires.



Excerpted:

CHRISTMAS 2004
"Thriving under harsh conditions is something that is bred into us from the beginning of boot camp," 19-year-old Marine Cpl. Richard B. McCluskey told NRO. "It is in our heritage and tradition that we thrive under hardship."

Staff Sgt. William R. Bilenski, a ten-year veteran of the Marine Corps and a transportation chief currently serving his third tour in Iraq, agrees. "Regardless of the situation, if it's a legitimate order, you shut your mouth and do it, no questions asked," he told NRO.

"And the morale here is high. My Marines go on the road every single day, and they look forward to going out every single day. They drive for countless hours, man the crew-served weapons, and provide their own security teams. That is all they live for out here — accomplishing the mission — that is what takes them to the next day."

Despite the media-coached National Guardsman (certainly not a frontline combatant like those slugging it out in Fallujah and elsewhere) who publicly questioned the U.S. defense secretary, comments like McCluskey's and Bilenski's are the heartfelt sentiments of the vast majority of combat Marines and soldiers who know — like their great-grandfathers at Bastogne — America will prevail.

— A former U.S. Marine infantry leader and paratrooper, W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a freelance journalist and the author of four books, including the Alpha Bravo Delta Guide to American Airborne Forces.

****

We can go on and on about what you think they all feel, or what I think they all feel, but it's a continual disservice to every man and woman who wears that uniform to assume anything other than what they report back home.

And it is "knee-jerk", PD, it's close to home.

Well if it's personal, that's you man. I meant nothing personal, it's too bad you took it that way.

--PD