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Hey America! Remember Iraq?
It’s been nearly 6 ½ years since military operations began in the country. While the previous question may sound a bit silly taken literally it does seem clear that our continued involvement in Iraq is a concern placed on the backburner for many Americans.
One of the central themes during the 2004 election cycle was the Iraq War. More specifically the discussion centered around our decision to invade the sovereign nation and justification for pressing ahead or reducing our forces there. With a new administration and party controlling both Congress and residing in the White House however, and the top concern for the vast majority of Americans being our flailing economy, attention has shifted dramatically.
Yet just today we were once more reminded that the struggle in Iraq continues. 60 people were killed in bombings, the worst instance of violence since the United States has withdrawn combat forces from urban areas. As the U.S. focuses more and more on military operations in Afghanistan Iraqi insurgents seem intent on exploiting the lesser presence of troops in their continued effort to destabilize the fledgling democracy.
Polling the American people on their thoughts and feelings regarding Iraq continues meanwhile.
According to exit polling conducted by CNN after the 2004 election some 15% of Americans listed the war in Iraq as the most important issue affecting their vote. That issue ran a competitive fourth in a field where no one topic of concern polled at higher than 22% (moral values). While a majority of Americans in that year’s election concluded even then that the war was going badly for the US, the approval to disapproval split for going to Iraq in the first place was 51-45%.
Four years worth of changes produced vastly different perceptions amongst the American electorate. By Election Day 2008 only 36% of Americans approved with the decision to invade Iraq and the issue itself was most important with just 10% of voters. This is a considerable drop from the 15% polled in 2004 and nowhere near the top concern of voters overall. The economy was the most important issue with a whopping 63% of responders by 2008 and those voters broke an impressive 53-44% in favor of now President Barack Obama.
To date we see little positive shift in the perceptions of Iraq amongst American voters. That said the decision to flee the country completely could be met with a heavy price for Iraqi’s in the eyes of Americans. According to a recent Gallup poll 58% expect conditions to get worse Iraq under the transfer of security from U.S. to Iraqi forces. Nearly seven in ten (69%) also believe that at least some of America’s military forces will remain in the country past the scheduled 2011 withdraw.
The weariness shown by Americans regarding the war perhaps comes through best in a recent CNN poll. Echoing the only 34% of responders who approve with the U.S. intervention in Iraq just 35% think American troops should be sent back to Iraq even if there is a significant increase in violence after the military withdraw.
Finishing the job as stressed numerous times by both the former Bush administration and many high ranking military officials no longer seems to resonate with the majority of American voters. Rasmussen poll results from last week indicate just 16% of voters consider the Iraq war to be over, against 64% who do not. Mirroring the previous CNN poll however only 17% are strongly on board with American troops being sent back into the cities in the event of escalading violence after the withdraw.
Arguments regarding the decision to pull all American troops out of Iraq in 2011 rage onward. Just as the argument for sending troops in the first place continues. For many in the U.S. however as long as major economic problems continue on the home front and other foreign policy concerns take center stage, the Iraq War is something of an after thought. Or at the very least presents an ominous cloud over the head of our country that we seek to dismiss of at all cost.
Hey America! Remember Iraq?
It’s been nearly 6 ½ years since military operations began in the country. While the previous question may sound a bit silly taken literally it does seem clear that our continued involvement in Iraq is a concern placed on the backburner for many Americans.
One of the central themes during the 2004 election cycle was the Iraq War. More specifically the discussion centered around our decision to invade the sovereign nation and justification for pressing ahead or reducing our forces there. With a new administration and party controlling both Congress and residing in the White House however, and the top concern for the vast majority of Americans being our flailing economy, attention has shifted dramatically.
Yet just today we were once more reminded that the struggle in Iraq continues. 60 people were killed in bombings, the worst instance of violence since the United States has withdrawn combat forces from urban areas. As the U.S. focuses more and more on military operations in Afghanistan Iraqi insurgents seem intent on exploiting the lesser presence of troops in their continued effort to destabilize the fledgling democracy.
Polling the American people on their thoughts and feelings regarding Iraq continues meanwhile.
According to exit polling conducted by CNN after the 2004 election some 15% of Americans listed the war in Iraq as the most important issue affecting their vote. That issue ran a competitive fourth in a field where no one topic of concern polled at higher than 22% (moral values). While a majority of Americans in that year’s election concluded even then that the war was going badly for the US, the approval to disapproval split for going to Iraq in the first place was 51-45%.
Four years worth of changes produced vastly different perceptions amongst the American electorate. By Election Day 2008 only 36% of Americans approved with the decision to invade Iraq and the issue itself was most important with just 10% of voters. This is a considerable drop from the 15% polled in 2004 and nowhere near the top concern of voters overall. The economy was the most important issue with a whopping 63% of responders by 2008 and those voters broke an impressive 53-44% in favor of now President Barack Obama.
To date we see little positive shift in the perceptions of Iraq amongst American voters. That said the decision to flee the country completely could be met with a heavy price for Iraqi’s in the eyes of Americans. According to a recent Gallup poll 58% expect conditions to get worse Iraq under the transfer of security from U.S. to Iraqi forces. Nearly seven in ten (69%) also believe that at least some of America’s military forces will remain in the country past the scheduled 2011 withdraw.
The weariness shown by Americans regarding the war perhaps comes through best in a recent CNN poll. Echoing the only 34% of responders who approve with the U.S. intervention in Iraq just 35% think American troops should be sent back to Iraq even if there is a significant increase in violence after the military withdraw.
Finishing the job as stressed numerous times by both the former Bush administration and many high ranking military officials no longer seems to resonate with the majority of American voters. Rasmussen poll results from last week indicate just 16% of voters consider the Iraq war to be over, against 64% who do not. Mirroring the previous CNN poll however only 17% are strongly on board with American troops being sent back into the cities in the event of escalading violence after the withdraw.
Arguments regarding the decision to pull all American troops out of Iraq in 2011 rage onward. Just as the argument for sending troops in the first place continues. For many in the U.S. however as long as major economic problems continue on the home front and other foreign policy concerns take center stage, the Iraq War is something of an after thought. Or at the very least presents an ominous cloud over the head of our country that we seek to dismiss of at all cost.
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