Military attitudes about the Iraq war

Toward the end of December 2006, the Military Times conducted a survey about how soldiers feel about the war in Iraq. Here is one summary of the results:

It's often written or said in the media that, despite public opposition to the Iraq war here at home, military personnel strongly back President Bush's handling of the conflict. But a poll for the Military Times newspapers, released Friday, shows that more troops disapprove of the president’s handling of the war than approve of it.

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Barely one in three service members approve of the way the president is handling the war, according to the new poll for the four papers (Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Times). In another startling finding, only 41% now feel it was the right idea to go to war in Iraq in the first place.

And the number who feel success there is likely has shrunk from 83% in 2004 to about 50% today. A surprising 13% say there should be no U.S. troops in Iraq at all.

This comes even though only about one in ten called their overall political views "liberal."

I was first informed about this survey via an email which said that Bush was losing the support and confidence of the military. Here was my response:

I don't find this surprising. It has been building for a long time. This is what happens when there is no plan for the post-war period, which directly put the troops in very dangerous and ongoing situations. This is what happens when the troops see private contractors and workers doing some of the same jobs but making 3-4 times more money. This is what happens when the soldiers on the ground recognize what the problems will be and how they should be addressed, but the guys in charge (Bush, Rumskull, etc.) either don't see that or ignore it. This is what happens when you send the troops to war without adequate equipment (such as armor for people and vehicles). This is what happens when the Secretary of Defense flippantly responds to the lack of such equipment with "You go to war with the army you have." This is what happens when the Commander in Chief refuses to attend even one funeral or memorial service. This is what happens when the troops are risking and losing their lives for an objective that is not clear. And on and on...