WINNING IN IRAQ….I think CNN missed the story today in their report on public sentiment toward Iraq:
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Thursday indicated fewer than half of Americans believe the United States will win the Iraq war, and 55 percent of those surveyed said it should speed up withdrawal plans.
Only 21 percent said the United States definitely would win the war in Iraq, which began when a U.S.-led coalition invaded in 2003 to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Another 22 percent said they thought the United States probably would win.
Twenty percent of respondents said the United States was capable of winning in Iraq ? but probably would not. And 34 percent said they considered the war unwinnable.
If you add up the numbers, 63% of Americans think it’s still possible for us to win in Iraq. And no matter what they tell pollsters, my guess is that anyone who thinks we’re capable of winning the war won’t trust a politician who advocates withdrawal. This is the Democratic dilemma in a nutshell, and it probably explains this Knight Ridder report:
Nationally known Democratic war critics, including Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and John Kerry of Massachusetts, won’t attend what sponsors say will be a big anti-war rally Saturday in Washington.
For more on this, see Lorelei Kelly. As a conservative journalist told her today, “The liberals were pretty much right on Viet Nam. And what did that get them? They destroyed their reputation on national security for three decades.” I have a feeling that’s a widespread attitude.
