Most Americans Say Iraq War Not Lost

A new UPI/Zogby poll finds a majority of Americans - 54% - believe the United States has not lost the war in Iraq.

As usual there is a huge partisan divide on this question:

While two in three Democrats (66%) said the war effort has already failed, just 9% of Republicans say the same.

This Democratic defeatism echoes that of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said in April that he believed that "this war is lost and that the surge is not accomplishing anything."

While the President's approval for his handling of the war improved, up to 27% from 24% in July, Congress remains stuck at a 3% approval rating for its handling of the war. Nearly all Democrats -95% are dissatisfied with the way the Democratic Congress has handled the war. Perhaps Democrats would hold a higher opinion of Congress if Democratic leaders advocate victory rather than retreat. If Democrats would join in the call for Reids resignation over his moral support for our enemies, other Democrats in Congress would realize Americans want to win the war.

Americans are also split over which party, if elected in 2008, would be more likely to bring the war to a successful conclusion - 39% say a Republican president, while 36% say a Democratic president.

Asked which of the 2008 presidential candidates would best handle the war in Iraq, respondents preferred Rudy Giuliani - 14%, followed by Fred Thompson - 11%; Hillary Clinton - 10%; Barack Obama 9%; John McCain and Joe Biden - 7%; John Edwards - 5%,;Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich - 4%. But more Americans said they were unsure (15%).

The poll was conducted August 17-20, and has a margin of error of +/- 1.2 percent.

Comments

[Stephen Fox]

Please read Bill Richardson’s recently published article on how we must reconfigure the entire US Foreign Policy, printed in the Harvard International Review, yet has hardly been noticed by any mainstream media.
You could conclude that Bill Richardson is changing the nature of the debate between the Democrat candidates and improving the international focus of their dialogue, not to mention being the strongest candidate to speak for ending the Iraq war immediately. I hope you can share this important document with your friends, colleagues, and readers. It is a very important international policy breakthrough and deserves to be read and considered by every single American, the entire diplomatic community from every nation, as well as your insightful readers! I am not officially connected to his campaign, but as a private citizen, I do recognize the importance of this statement enough to send it to you.
Thank you, Stephen Fox
___________________________________

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's International Policies, from Harvard
International Review

“New Realism: Crafting a US Foreign Policy for a New Century”
Governor Bill Richardson
Redacted from the Harvard International Review

US foreign policymakers face novel challenges in the 21st century. Jihadists and environmental crises have replaced armies and missiles as the greatest threats; globalization has eroded the significance of national borders. Many problems that were once national are now global, and dangers that once came only from states now come also from societies—not from hostile governments, but from hostile individuals or from impersonal social trends, such as the consumption of fossil fuels. The piece does a credible job of laying out the problems before us and arguing that the Bush Administration has not taken the appropriate measures to deal with them.

The highlights of Richardson’s plans:

First and foremost, the United States must repair its alliances. US leaders also must restore commitment to international law and multilateral cooperation.

Promoting expansion of the UN Security Council’s permanent membership to include Japan, India, Germany, and one country each from Africa and Latin
America.

Ethical reform at the United Nations so that this vital institution can help its many underdeveloped and destitute member states meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Expanding the G8 to include India and China.

The US government must join the International Criminal Court and respect all international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions.”

On environmental issues, the United States must be the leader, not the laggard, in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by embracing the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, Lead the world with a man-on-the-moon effort to improve energy efficiency and to commercialize clean, alternative technologies.

Stop considering diplomatic engagement with others as a reward for good behavior.

Various efforts including ratification of theComprehensive Test Ban Treaty

The United States needs to start showing, both through its words and through its actions, that this is not, as the Jihadists claim, a clash of
civilizations. Rather, it is a clash between civilization and barbarity.

Closing Guantanamo

The United States also needs to pressure Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other friends in the Arab world to reform their education systems, which are incubators of anti-US sentiment.

Spend more to develop first responders and to improve public health facilities, which, five years after 9/11, are not ready for a biological attack.

The United States needs to lead the global fight against poverty, which is the basis of so much violence.

Encourage rich countries to honor UN Millennium goal commitments.

Lead donors on debt relief, shifting aid from loans to grants, and focus on primary health care and affordable vaccines.

Promote trade agreements, which create more jobs in all nations and which seriously address wage disparities, worker rights, and the environment.

Pressure pharmaceutical companies to allow expanded use of generic drugs, and encourage public-private partnerships to reduce costs and enhance access to
anti-malarial drugs and bed nets.

Promote a multilateral Marshall Plan for the Middle East and North Africa.

I look forward to your reply,
Stephen Fox
stephen@santafefineart.com

[rich]

If Ron Paul delivered babies as incompetently as the republicans waged war, he would have delivered a lot of dead and malformed babies....The neo-cons of the future...