Christian Science Monitor: A strident anti-W minority among US troops
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\"[For] 9 out of 10 of the people I talk to, it wouldn't matter who ran against Bush - they'd vote for them,\" said a US soldier in the southern city of Najaf, seeking out a reporter to make his views known. \"People are so fed up with Iraq, and fed up with Bush.\"
With only three weeks until an Oct. 11 deadline set for hundreds of thousands of US troops abroad to mail in absentee ballots, this segment of the military vote is important - symbolically, as a reflection on Bush as a wartime commander, and politically, as absentee ballots could end up tipping the balance in closely contested states.
It is difficult to gauge the extent of disaffection with Bush, which emerged in interviews in June and July with ground forces in central, northern, and southern Iraq. No scientific polls exist on the political leanings of currently deployed troops, military experts and officials say.
To be sure, broader surveys of US military personnel and their spouses in recent years indicate they are more likely to be conservative and Republican than the US civilian population - but not overwhelmingly so.
andWith only three weeks until an Oct. 11 deadline set for hundreds of thousands of US troops abroad to mail in absentee ballots, this segment of the military vote is important - symbolically, as a reflection on Bush as a wartime commander, and politically, as absentee ballots could end up tipping the balance in closely contested states.
It is difficult to gauge the extent of disaffection with Bush, which emerged in interviews in June and July with ground forces in central, northern, and southern Iraq. No scientific polls exist on the political leanings of currently deployed troops, military experts and officials say.
To be sure, broader surveys of US military personnel and their spouses in recent years indicate they are more likely to be conservative and Republican than the US civilian population - but not overwhelmingly so.
QUOTE
\"Nobody I know wants Bush,\" says an enlisted soldier in Najaf, adding, \"This whole war was based on lies.\" Like several others interviewed, his animosity centered on a belief that the war lacked a clear purpose even as it took a tremendous toll on US troops, many of whom are in Iraq involuntarily under \"stop loss\" orders that keep them in the service for months beyond their scheduled exit in order to keep units together during deployments.
\"There's no clear definition of why we came here,\" says Army Spc. Nathan Swink, of Quincy, Ill. \"First they said they have WMD and nuclear weapons, then it was to get Saddam Hussein out of office, and then to rebuild Iraq. I want to fight for my nation and for my family, to protect the United States against enemies foreign and domestic, not to protect Iraqi civilians or deal with Sadr's militia,\" he said.
Specialist Swink, who comes from a family of both Democrats and Republicans, plans to vote for Kerry. \"Kerry protested the war in Vietnam. He is the one to end this stuff, to lead to our exit of Iraq,\" he said.
\"There's no clear definition of why we came here,\" says Army Spc. Nathan Swink, of Quincy, Ill. \"First they said they have WMD and nuclear weapons, then it was to get Saddam Hussein out of office, and then to rebuild Iraq. I want to fight for my nation and for my family, to protect the United States against enemies foreign and domestic, not to protect Iraqi civilians or deal with Sadr's militia,\" he said.
Specialist Swink, who comes from a family of both Democrats and Republicans, plans to vote for Kerry. \"Kerry protested the war in Vietnam. He is the one to end this stuff, to lead to our exit of Iraq,\" he said.
[ September 21, 2004, 10:40 AM: Message edited by: fantomas ]
