Otherwise we could end up with a big problem a few months from now. From Zogby:
An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and nearly one in four say the troops should leave immediately, a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows.
The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies, showed that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces, said the U.S. should leave Iraq “immediately,” while another 22% said they should leave in the next six months. Another 21% said troops should be out between six and 12 months, while 23% said they should stay “as long as they are needed.”
The wide-ranging poll also shows that 58% of those serving in country say the U.S. mission in Iraq is clear in their minds, while 42% said it is either somewhat or very unclear to them, that they have no understanding of it at all, or are unsure. While 85% said the U.S. mission is mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” 77% said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”
But wait, there's even more.
“Ninety-three percent said that removing weapons of mass destruction is not a reason for U.S. troops being there,” said Pollster John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International. “Instead, that initial rationale went by the wayside and, in the minds of 68% of the troops, the real mission became to remove Saddam Hussein.” Just 24% said that “establishing a democracy that can be a model for the Arab World" was the main or major reason for the war. Only small percentages see the mission there as securing oil supplies (11%) or to provide long-term bases for US troops in the region (6%).
Some of this info is startling, but shouldn't be. That 85% think we went to war in Iraq to retaliate for their role in 9/11 (which there wasn't one) is perfectly understandable when you realize they don't get to read the newspaper and talk with other people everyday. They pretty much get undiluted bullshit fed straight to them from the Sec. of Defense through the chain of command. The worst part will explaining to these guys when this over with what the hell really happened and how they ended up there.
The other interesting thing of note is that the first thing we did upon invasion was secure the oil fields and the Project for the New American Century (who came up with this brilliant boondoggle in the 1990s) has always planned on permanent military bases in Iraq. The point of starting in Iraq was so that we would have a centralized base of operations in Southwest Asia from which to exert our military influence.
Comments