Do Our Troops “Support Our Troops”?
Just barely.
You’ve seen the “Support Our Troops” decals and bumper strips on cars and trucks. It is our understanding that in most cases they are an overt or oblique way of saying, “We support the war in Iraq.” Certainly, they are not saying “Support Our Troops” by bringing them home.
But what about our troops and their support of the war? It turns out that our troops support the Iraq War, but just barely. This came as quite a shock to us.
In a survey of subscribers, the Military Times (Jan. 3) polled by mail more than 1,000 troops, 85 percent being on active duty, and 61 percent having been deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq.
These troops should be President Bush’s bedrock of support. But they aren’t.
One question was: “Should the U.S. have gone to war in Iraq?” Only 56 percent said yes. Good grief! Another question was: “Do you approve of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?” Only 54 percent said yes.
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