A new poll confirms that most Americans think the Dems’ call-outs on the war are damaging our soldiers’ resolve.
From the Washington Post:
Democrats fumed last week at Vice President Cheney’s suggestion that criticism of the administration’s war policies was itself becoming a hindrance to the war effort. But a new poll indicates most Americans are sympathetic to Cheney’s point.
Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale — with 44 percent saying morale is hurt “a lot,” according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale.
The results surely will rankle many Democrats, who argue that it is patriotic and supportive of the troops to call attention to what they believe are deep flaws in President Bush’s Iraq strategy. But the survey itself cannot be dismissed as a partisan attack. The RTs in RT Strategies are Thomas Riehle, a Democrat, and Lance Tarrance, a veteran GOP pollster.
This poll stirs up some interesting sentiments and trends, both of which speak to a particularly difficult position I’ve recently found myself in.
When the whole Iraq thing was going down in 2002, I thought going in there was VERY wrong, and even as I move more towards the center of the political spectrum, I still think it wasn’t the right decision. Sure, my venom and disgust has subsided, but I continue to feel that this was the right war at the wrong time.
However, when I saw Iraqis going through the democratic process this year, it was hard to argue with that. Seeing those purple fingers certainly struck a chord with me and I started to reconsider my position.
But then I stepped backed from the hoopla and remembered that many countries have had “free elections”, only to have those elections ultimately deliver disastrous results in the long run. Democracy in and of itself is not an inherent good. Most politicos realize that democracy needs the right atmosphere in order to thrive. Is Iraq the right atmosphere? Will a country that follows the tenets of Islamic law be a good place for this system? Only time can tell, but I fear it won’t. I fear it everyday.
So, if you asked me if criticism hurt the troops’ resolve, I’d say yes too. But does that make it wrong? Absolutely not. Criticism is vital, especially when so many things have been proven not to be true. We can’t walk blindly into war after war simply by trusting our leaders’ assessment of the situation. That, in short, is not democratic.
But will it hurt the war’s outcome? I don’t know. It may, but I can’t say right now. All I can tell you is that criticism of a President’s decision will always hurt the troops because their job is to not really question, it’s to perform. So, while the first part of this question seems obvious, the second part seems nebulous.
Personally, I’m not for a withdrawal at all. I think we should keep the troop level at its current level, or up it and I’ve given my reasons (and fears) here at Donklephant. This is a tough position to defend, but I believe we can’t let public sentiment sway our effort to fix what we’ve broken.
But given this poll and give current sentiments about the war, I will ask what I think is an obvious question, “What price silence?”
Your thoughts are welcome and vital.