OT:OT:OT:NO MS:NO HURT USA:When truth becomes manifest
- From: "abdi" <abdi@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:45:53 GMT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 28, 2006
10:07 AM
CONTACT: Zogby International
In the U.S. & Canada 1-877-GO-2-POLL
NY phone 315.624.0200
U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006
WASHINGTON -
a.. Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops
want to heed Bush call to stay "as long as they are needed"
b.. While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy
c.. Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown
d.. Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam's role in
9/11, most don't blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks
e.. Majority of troops oppose use of harsh prisoner
interrogation
f.. Plurality of troops pleased with their armor and equipment
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."
Different branches had quite different sentiments on the
question, the poll shows. While 89% of reserves and 82% of those in the
National Guard said the U.S. should leave Iraq within a year, 58% of Marines
think so. Seven in ten of those in the regular Army thought the U.S. should
leave Iraq in the next year. Moreover, about three-quarters of those in
National Guard and Reserve units favor withdrawal within six months, just
15% of Marines felt that way. About half of those in the regular Army
favored withdrawal from Iraq in the next six months.
The troops have drawn different conclusions about fellow
citizens back home. Asked why they think some Americans favor rapid U.S.
troop withdrawal from Iraq, 37% of troops serving there said those Americans
are unpatriotic, while 20% believe people back home don't believe a
continued occupation will work. Another 16% said they believe those favoring
a quick withdrawal do so because they oppose the use of the military in a
pre-emptive war, while 15% said they do not believe those Americans
understand the need for the U.S. troops in Iraq.
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."
"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 a 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%).
The continuing insurgent attacks have not turned U.S. troops
against the Iraqi population, the survey shows. More than 80% said they did
not hold a negative view of Iraqis because of those attacks. About two in
five see the insurgency as being comprised of discontented Sunnis with very
few non-Iraqi helpers. "There appears to be confusion on this," Zogby said.
But, he noted, less than a third think that if non-Iraqi terrorists could be
prevented from crossing the border into Iraq, the insurgency would end. A
majority of troops (53%) said the U.S. should double both the number of
troops and bombing missions in order to control the insurgency.
The survey shows that most U.S. military personnel in-country
have a clear sense of right and wrong when it comes to using banned weapons
against the enemy, and in interrogation of prisoners. Four in five said they
oppose the use of such internationally banned weapons as napalm and white
phosphorous. And, even as more photos of prisoner abuse in Iraq surface
around the world, 55% said it is not appropriate or standard military
conduct to use harsh and threatening methods against insurgent prisoners in
order to gain information of military value.
Three quarters of the troops had served multiple tours and had a
longer exposure to the conflict: 26% were on their first tour of duty, 45%
were on their second tour, and 29% were in Iraq for a third time or more.
A majority of the troops serving in Iraq said they were
satisfied with the war provisions from Washington. Just 30% of troops said
they think the Department of Defense has failed to provide adequate troop
protections, such as body armor, munitions, and armor plating for vehicles
like HumVees. Only 35% said basic civil infrastructure in Iraq, including
roads, electricity, water service, and health care, has not improved over
the past year. Three of every four were male respondents, with 63% under the
age of 30.
The survey included 944 military respondents interviewed at
several undisclosed locations throughout Iraq. The names of the specific
locations and specific personnel who conducted the survey are being withheld
for security purposes. Surveys were conducted face-to-face using random
sampling techniques. The margin of error for the survey, conducted Jan. 18
through Feb. 14, 2006, is +/- 3.3 percentage points.
###
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