Bush’s Iraq standing improves

WASHINGTON - With President Bush set to address the nation with a prime-time speech on Iraq, the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds that Bush’s standing on Iraq has improved slightly.
Still, only three in 10 approve of his handling of Iraq; a substantial majority of respondents believe removing Saddam Hussein
from power was not worth the U.S. casualties and the cost of the war;
and almost two-thirds want American soldiers to begin leaving Iraq now
or within the next year.
“The
bottom line remains: Victory is not possible, and the war is not worth
it,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey
with Republican pollster Neil Newhouse.
But
Newhouse has a bit of a different take. “There is a sense we’re making
progress,” he observes. “But, politically, Americans need to see more
to justify our troops being there.”
“They are looking for more than military progress.”

Republican opinion provides bump

The
survey — which was conducted of 1,002 adults from Sept. 7-10, and which
has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points —
comes as Bush prepares for his Thursday night address, in which he’s
expected to endorse Gen. David Petraeus
call to gradually withdraw 30,000 troops from Iraq, which would keep
approximately 130,000 U.S. soldiers there by next summer.
Senate Majority Leaders called that "unacceptable" arguing that reducing the number of troops to the pre-surge level is not enough.

According to the
poll, just 30 percent approve of Bush’s handling of Iraq, but that’s an
eight-point improvement from July. The increase comes primarily from
Republicans, men and independents, the NBC/Journal pollsters say.
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In addition, only 35 percent believe that removing Saddam Hussein from power was worth the U.S. casualties and the cost of the war. By comparison, 56 percent say it wasn’t worth it.

And when asked
what they think is the most acceptable outcome to the war in Iraq, 24
percent say that American troops should remain in Iraq until it becomes
a stable democracy. Twenty-six percent want them to begin the process
of leaving now, and 37 percent want them to leave within the next year
— but still keep some of them in the region.

I just wish they would start sending our troops home from there. I talk to alot of US soliders on-line from iraq. I just feel so bad at how jaded there lives are right now, how much they miss home, how much home misses them. we sleep peacefuly while our young american soliders are over there jumping in there sleep from the bombs going off in their minds all night. Even if they do come home soon. Will these soliders lives ever be the same again? Be able to go back to their lives before the war has tainted them so deeply? I don't know