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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Majority Want Troop Pull Out

The quote: "even if we did, we would never ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq." -- Faisal Khetani
Janesville Messenger Editorial Excerpt:
Finally, we note the indignation of Othman Atta, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, who defended Khetani, saying, “his opinion is reflected by a majority of Americans.”
We doubt that, and wonder whether the response to the now-infamous e-mail would have been as pronounced had Muslim leaders like Atta been as outspoken in opposition to Islamist violence directed at the west in recent years.
It's one thing being against the 9/11 terrorists and their accomplices, but it's another thing disregarding a person and their rights because they are Muslim. Around here in America, they have a word for that.

A clear majority of Americans think Bush is headed in the wrong direction AND/OR doing a poor job of leadership regarding Iraq. If his plan is to escalate the war and surge the troops, one can safely assume Americans want to go in the other direction, and pull troops out, but you don't have to take my word for it. After I posted my original opinion and perspective of the Messenger’s outrageous editorial, a few interesting comments compelled me to google "Iraq war polls."

Granted, most of these polls are older than 3 months, but it would be a safe bet to say that the percentage favoring drawdown/pullout is even greater today. This is not earth shattering news for most people.

This first one is truly amazing. Even the majority of the soldiers in Iraq agree with Khetani. Ya think that soldier in Iraq who complained over-reacted just a bit?

Zogby: Seventy-two per cent of the troops said the US should withdraw within 12 months. Note:This poll gets even better when you realize it was taken in February of 2006 - 12 months ago!

CNN: A majority of Americans -- 53 percent -- favors setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Gallup: Nearly six in 10 Americans say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq, a new Gallup Poll finds.

USA Today: In the poll 57% say Congress should pass a resolution that outlines a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops.

AP Poll:Since the invasion that number has virtually flipped-flopped, producing the 66 percent "wrong direction" result found in the current poll.

Washington Post-ABC poll: Shows strong bi-partisan opposition to his plan to send additional troops, 59 percent of all Americans, including more than a quarter of Republicans, favoring Congressional intervention to stop the president's plan.

Pew: On the troop surge in Iraq, Pew found those opposed ahead by a 61-31 percent margin, with Republicans more in favor (60-33 percent), Democrats more opposed (82-12 percent), and Independents also more opposed (62-31 percent)

Here’s one with a minority result. But remember, this one is for immediate withdrawal.

Angus Reid Poll: 47.8 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should pull out of Iraq now.

…..and another poll taken of Iraqi’s.

US State Department Poll:In Baghdad, for example, nearly three-quarters of residents polled said they would feel safer if U.S. and other foreign forces left Iraq, with 65 percent of those asked favoring an immediate pullout.

……and one from Wisconsin.

USA TODAY/CNN:Most Wisconsin communities vote to bring troops home. 24 out of 32 communities passed a referendum calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

....and what does the rest of the world think? Don't even go there.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

what this guy, khetani did was wrong. he should be sent bac to whatever country he came from, he dishonered his citenzenship here.

Lou Kaye said...

You won’t get an argument from me. Khetani not only failed customer service 101, he did so in a very unpatriotic way. His words were clearly inappropriate but….. the Janesville Messenger painted this episode as a planned left-wing effort to blast our troops. The Messenger grabbed onto a sad story and attempted to fuel more hatred against defenders of the very same rights our soldiers fight for. Hate is not the answer, particularly if you love this country.

Anonymous said...

Louis, at first I thought you may have caught a hot potato on this one. But after surfing the web and reading todays stories about how the troops in Iraq are denied body armor, armored vehicles, artillery and countermeasure devices by the Department of Defense, the story about the mats becomes even more absurd. The soldier could have easily went to another mat supplier, too bad they can't do the same for life saving combat gear.

Lou Kaye said...

Thanks for the comment. But my disagreement is not with the soldier or Khetani. It's the vicious attack against the left and the toxic language spewed by our local newspapers to steer an inflamed public into an even larger accident.

Anonymous said...

Most people want victory.

Anonymous said...

Except lefties. They want us to be defeated. They live for failure.

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