9-25-06, 8:52 am
Those surveyed gave President Bush an approval rating of a miniscule 37%, and 57% described the war as a 'mistake.' By a margin of more than 2-to-1, respondents indicated they would vote Democratic in the mid-term congressional elections based on their feelings about the Iraq war. (People of voting age may register by clicking here.)
This survey of young people reflects a slightly stronger anti-war sentiment than in the general population, 60% of which views the war as a mistake.
The unpopularity of the war is related to growing doubts about the effectiveness and purpose of the US occupation, as well as alarm over the fact that the evidence used by the Bush administration to lead the country to war was either fabricated or simply missing. Recent media reports, for example, indicate that a growing number of intelligence analysts from the CIA and within the Pentagon itself viewed the administration’s drive for war as an abuse of and politicization of intelligence.
Despite Bush administration and congressional Republican supporters’ claims that the war is going well and that the situation in Iraq has improved, a recent UN report shows that more than 6,500 Iraqis died in the months of July and August, up by more than 700 over the previous two months. This puts the total number of Iraqi deaths at close to 50,000.
In July through September, more than 160 US military personnel were killed. The total number of US killed is just at 2,700 and approaching 20,000 wounded, with many tens of thousands more mentally injured and traumatized.
After 3 years of 'winning,' this three-month period is among the deadliest of the entire war.
In related news, Pentagon officials recently admitted, despite the official administration story that no civil war in Iraq exists, that the violence is more sectarian and motivated by desires for internal control of the political and social life of Iraq than aimed against the US occupation.
Gang-like violence and terrorist attacks with sectarian motives have not abated despite the presence of 140,000 US military personnel. Indeed, the occupation has given people who favor terror and lawlessness an excuse to do so. Sectarian militias that operate within the Iraqi security structure and as independent political movements and that commit frequent acts of violence are on the rise. Daily bombings with dozens killed, kidnappings, torture, and the like are a matter of course under the more than 3-year US occupation.
The latest congressional effort to bring the occupation to a close (among ten such bills) is being led by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) who has introduced a bill (H.R. 4232) to halt funding troop deployment to Iraq. While the bill would not restrict funding for safe and orderly withdrawal operations, aid to Iraqi security forces, reconstruction aid to the Iraqi government, and transfer of security operations to international organizations, it would require withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. Learn more about how to support this bill here: http://pdamerica.org/petition/mcgovern-petition.php
--Joel Wendland can be reached at
