Thread: 7 out of 10 troops want to exit Iraq within the next year

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End Iraq War Soon, Most Troops Say In Poll
Large Majority In Survey Think Saddam Hussein Played Role In Sept. 11, 2001 Attacks

POSTED: 8:23 am PST February 28, 2006

WASHINGTON -- A Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll released Tuesday said that 72 percent of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year.

The degree of support for the mission was different according to various branches of the military, Zogby found. Eighty-nine percent of military reserves, 82 percent of those in the National Guard and 58 percent of U.S. Marines say troops should leave Iraq within a year, for example.

Seven in ten of those in the regular Army thought the U.S. should leave Iraq in the next year. About three-quarters of those in National Guard and Reserve units favor withdrawal within six months, while 15 percent of Marines felt that way. About half of those in the regular Army favored withdrawal from Iraq in the next six months.

Results were made public on Zogby's Web site. The survey included 944 military respondents interviewed at several undisclosed locations throughout Iraq, Zogby said. The names of the specific locations and specific personnel who conducted the survey were 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 plus-or-minus 3.3 percentage points, Zogby said.

Asked why they think some Americans favor rapid U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, 37 percent of troops serving there said those Americans are unpatriotic and 20 percent believe people back home don’t believe a continued occupation will work. Another 16 percent 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 percent said they do not believe those Americans understand the need for the U.S. troops in Iraq.

The wide-ranging poll also showed that 58 percent of those serving said the U.S. mission in Iraq is clear in their minds, while 42 percent said it is either somewhat or very unclear to them, that they have no understanding of it at all, or are unsure.

Eighy-five percent said the U.S. mission is "to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks," 77 percent 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," John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International, sad in a statement. "Instead, that initial rationale went by the wayside and, in the minds of 68 percent of the troops, the real mission became to remove Saddam Hussein."

The continuing insurgent attacks have not turned U.S. troops against the Iraqi population, the survey said. More than 80 percent 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.

A majority of troops -- 53 percent -- said the U.S. should double both the number of troops and bombing missions in order to control the insurgency.

Don't forget our military