Iraq War, Once Bush's Re-Election Trump Card, May Be Liability

[cal04]

In May 2003, President George W. Bush stood before a ``Mission Accomplished'' banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared an end to major combat in Iraq. That month, 68 percent of Americans said the U.S. had made the right decision in invading Iraq, according to a survey by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes.

As U.S. casualties mounted, to 971 killed and 6,690 wounded as of Aug. 27, and attacks and kidnappings continued, Americans changed their mind. In another survey by the University of Maryland published Aug. 20, support for the invasion dropped to 46 percent. Sixty-nine percent said the war had damaged the U.S. image abroad.

``It's been a stunning turn of events,'' said Bruce Buchanan, a University of Texas professor and author of four books on the presidency, including ``The Policy Partnership: Presidential Elections and American Democracy,'' published in April. ``Bush gambled on the war in Iraq, and so far, it is not a winning hand.''



`Utter Chaos'

``The polls over the past several months show that terrorism is on the increase in terms of issues voters are concerned about,'' Mueller said. ``Bush's basic idea is to say to voters, `If you're really concerned about this, you don't change leaders in the middle of solving a problem like this.'' There's good reason for that strategy, Mueller said, because Bush and his aides predicted a short, successful war followed soon by economic progress and democracy in Iraq.
``That hasn't happened, and instead, what you have is this situation of utter chaos on the ground, of Americans getting killed every day,'' Mueller said. ``Not one of their predictions turned out to be correct, except for the easy military victory.''

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aEPPz1Xdbvwo&refer=home

[llmart]

1. Yeah, and just wait if he's in office for another 4 years.....

your sons and daughters will be drafted and sent to the Middle East to die for more oil wars. Hang on everyone. If you think the protests in NY City this week are something, wait until they reinstitute the draft!

[leftchick]

2. too bad the repukes are too stupid to make that connection...

either that or they are stupid enough to think their sons and daughters and those college repukes won't be drafted.

[pinniped]

3. That figure of 68% would have NEVER been that high had the...

asshole not flat-out lied to the American people and Congrass about the so-called WMD threat.

Chimpeach the SOB!

------As U.S. casualties mounted, to 971 killed and 6,690 wounded as of Aug. 27, and attacks and kidnappings continued, Americans changed their mind. In another survey by the University of Maryland published Aug. 20, support for the invasion dropped to 46 percent. Sixty-nine percent said the war had damaged the U.S. image abroad.------

Apparently some idiots still think IRQ WMDs can arrive on our shores in 45 minutes.

[Moderator]

4. Reason for move

This is commentary, not breaking news.