Americans are waking up to Iraq

The honeymoon is wayyyy over. War weariness is starting to set in...

Here are some interesting numbers from a recent CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll on Iraq.
(found on pollingreport.com)

						.
"In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?" Form A (N=481, MoE ± 5)
						.
		Made a Mistake	Did Not Make a Mistake	Unsure
		%	%	%
	8/5-7/05	54	44	2
	7/22-24/05	46	53	1

...that's a pretty big change for one month. And it means that most people now think we goofed going into Iraq.

"All in all, do you think it was worth going to war in Iraq, or not?" Form B (N=523, MoE ± 5) Wording, 6/03-12/03: "All in all, do you think the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, or not?" Wording prior to 6/03: "All in all, do you think the current situation in Iraq is worth going to war over, or not?"
						.
		Worth Going To War	Not Worth Going To War	Unsure
		%	%	%
	8/5-7/05	44	54	2
	7/7-10/05	44	53	3

As Dick Cheney the flip-flopper once said, "Everybody is fond of looking back at Desert Storm and saying that it was, in fact, a low cost conflict because we didn't suffer very many casualties. But for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it was not a cheap or a low cost conflict. The question, to my mind, in terms of this notion that we should have gone on and occupied Iraq is how many additional American casualties would we have had to suffer? How many additional American lives is Saddam Hussein worth? And the answer I would give is not very damn many."

Well, Dick, the American people now agree..

"In general, how would you say things are going for the U.S. in Iraq: very well, moderately well, moderately badly, or very badly?" Options rotated. N=1,004, MoE ± 3. Wording prior to 3/04: "How would you say things are going for the U.S. in Iraq now that the major fighting has ended: very well, moderately well, moderately badly, or very badly?"
						.
		Very Well	Moderately Well	Moderately Badly	Very Badly	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	8/5-7/05	5	38	28	28	1
	4/29 - 5/1/05	6	36	31	25	2

...to 56% of America, this war is going south faster than 2-month old milk. Even those thinking it's still going well don't think it's doing overly well. But this isn't new; mot Americans knew this wasn't going well for quite some time... since Oct of 2003.

"Which comes closest to your view about what the U.S. should now do about the number of U.S. troops in Iraq? The U.S. should send more troops to Iraq. The U.S. should keep the number of troops as it is now. The U.S. should withdraw some troops from Iraq. OR, The U.S. should withdraw all of its troops from Iraq." Options rotated. N=1,004, MoE ± 3.
						.
		Send More	Same as Now	Withdraw Some	Withdraw All	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	8/5-7/05	13	28	23	33	3
	6/6-8/05	10	26	31	28	5

...for the past 2 months the American people have been wanting our troops to come back home. Let Iraq defend Iraq. Of course, Iraqi troop training is a joke right now; we won't even accept offers from other countries to help bear the burden of getting them trained...

"Do you think the war with Iraq has made the U.S. safer or less safe from terrorism?" Form A (N=481, MoE ± 5)
						.
		Safer	Less Safe	No Change (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	8/5-7/05	34	57	6	3
	7/7-10/05	40	54	5	1

"Do you think the war with Iraq will make the U.S. safer or less safe from terrorism in the long run?" Form B (N=523, MoE ± 5)
						.
		Safer	Less Safe	No Change (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	8/5-7/05	42	48	8	2

...seems that since the London transit bombing that people have put 2 & 2 together and figured out that all we're doing is creating a great big terrorist training camp in Iraq, one where the survivors can apply their new 'skills' by stashing a bomb in a briefcase and attacking us here at home. So much for the "Fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" rhetoric. With our government cutting funding to border protection and the security of our infrastructure so they can pay for this unneccessary war, of course we're less safe!

Let's set our priorities straight. Secure the border to stop terror and stop making terrorist breeding grounds...