Funny, This Didn't Make the News...

From the Military Times:

The American military — once a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq war — has grown increasingly pessimistic about chances for victory.

For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president’s handling of the war than approve of it. Barely one-third of service members approve of the way the president is handling the war, according to the 2006 Military Times Poll.

When the military was feeling most optimistic about the war — in 2004 — 83 percent of poll respondents thought success in Iraq was likely. This year, that number has shrunk to 50 percent.

Only 35 percent of the military members polled this year said they approve of the way President Bush is handling the war, while 42 percent said they disapproved. The president’s approval rating among the military is only slightly higher than for the population as a whole. In 2004, when his popularity peaked, 63 percent of the military approved of Bush’s handling of the war. While approval of the president’s war leadership has slumped, his overall approval remains high among the military.

The real kicker? Only 41% of respondents think that the Invasion of Iraq was a good idea.

For all the disappointment directed at Chimpy McFlightsuit, the real object of the troops dissatisfaction seems to be located a little south of the White House and across the River:

Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of those surveyed said the senior military leadership has the best interests of the troops at heart. And though they don’t think much of the way he’s handling the war, 48 percent said the same about President Bush. But they take a dim view of civilian military leadership — only 32 percent said they think it has their best interests at heart. And only 23 percent think Congress is looking out for them.

Pentagon = Not Popular

And that Congressional approval was with a REPUBLICAN Congress. You know, the party that's supposed to LOVE all things troop-related. (Except, of course, encouraging their own sons and daughters to become U.S. Troops.) Civilians didn't notice when the GOP screwed all those veterans, but the troops sure noticed. And wearing a flag lapel pin doesn't make up for lost health benefits.

U.S. Troops are also questioning whether the War in Iraq is part of the overall War on Terrorism. 47% of respondents thought it was, 47% thought is was not.

On many questions in the poll, some respondents said they didn't have an opinion or declined to answer. That number was typically in the 10 percent range.

But on questions about the president and on war strategy, that number reached 20 percent and higher. [Professor David Segal, director of the Center for Research on Mil itary Organization at the Univer sity of Maryland] said he was surprised the percentage refusing to offer an opinion wasn't larger.

"There is a strong strain in military culture not to criticize the commander in chief," he said.

One would think that this means that the survey is skewed pro-war, pro-Bush as a result.

I wonder what troops in Iraq think about the coming surge. ::cough:: Unsustainable Escalation ::cough::

War in Iraq Military Approval Poll