America Trusts the Military
Saturday July 1, 2006
The 2006 Gallup poll results on public confidence are in and the military is again at the top of the list.
Seventy-three percent of Americans polled from June 1-4, 2006, said they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military. This is a one percent drop from last year, but the U.S. Military remains at the top of the polls as the institution in which Americans place their highest confidence.
Seventy-three percent of Americans polled from June 1-4, 2006, said they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military. This is a one percent drop from last year, but the U.S. Military remains at the top of the polls as the institution in which Americans place their highest confidence.
Comments
I’d like to see how the question was phrased — I strongly doubt that 73 percent of Americans have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military, especially when it’s involved in dubious ventures like our illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Iraq.
If more members of the military would display the courage of Lt. Ehren Watada of Hawaii, who has refused to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the war is illegal (see http://www.thankyoult.org), then it would be justified in having the support of three quarters of the American people.
I think that 73% is probably a good representation to how many people have quite alot or a great deal of confidence in our military. Lt. Watada is a disgrace to the uniform and should be prosicuted to the fullest extent of the UCMJ. He is a coward who is using the political climate of the war to avoid hazardous service.
Before he took his commission he should have made his stand by saying no and not becoming an officer of the united states army in a time of war. The Operation Iaraqi Freedom was in full swing when he was sworn in. The War in Iraq was NOT illegal. The United States Congress has the power to declare War in the U.S, not the the United Nations. I think this 73% shows that the far left anti-american behavior is in the minority.
Well, at least Lt. Watada has put on a uniform, which is more than we can say about glorious leaders like Dick Cheney or Karl Rove (or George W. Bush, who only wears his when being flown onto the deck of an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego for a lamentably premature triumphalist statement like “Mission Accomplished”).
Of course our war against Iraq is illegal — it’s an unprovoked war of aggression, and wars don’t come any more illegal than that — see the Nuremberg Tribunals. The U.S. Congress never declared war, although they signed off on a mealy-mouthed statement which Bush and his crew subsequently chose to interpret as a declaration.
You say that Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL; that was its original name) was in full swing by the time Watada joined. Fine. But he studied up on it, and came to the conclusion, as tens of millions of Americans have, that it’s illegal. He changed his mind, something thoughtful people do all the time.
Finally, you say that Lt. Watada is a coward. That’s both foolish and inaccurate — anyone who publically crosses Bush and his buddies usually pays for it. Watada knows he’s looking down the barrel of a gun, and he did it anyway. I can’t imagine a greater act of courage.
“I can’t imagine a greater act of courage.”
How about looking down the barrel of a REAL gun and not this political one your speaking of? HE was worried about his own skin. Thus making him a coward. I’m not going to get into the politics of the war with you on here. If you want to do that go into the forum.You have decided it was a war of agression and I do not think so.When you take the oath for officers you have to make sure you know what your getting into. He was in the Army, he was not allowed to change his mind after he had chosen. He has no honor and he has no integrity. You wish every soldier had his “courage”? Our country would never last.
If you feel that men who have never looked down the barrel of a gun during wartime are cowards, would you be kind enough to share with us your opinion of George “Champagne Unit of the Texas Air National Guard” W. Bush and Dick “Other Priorities and Five Deferments” Cheney?
Lieutenant Watada has laid out in detail his reasons for refusing deployment to Iraq; they can be viewed at http://www.thankyoult.org. Your assertion that he is a coward has no basis in fact.
You say, “He was in the Army, he was not allowed to change his mind after he had chosen.” I hate to break this to you, but even soldiers are human beings who have the right to think for themselves. Those who don’t sometimes wind up at Nuremberg-like tribunals, plaintively arguing, “I was only following orders.”
The cofidence should be high in confidence in our military,it is the best trained in the world also it is not an unprovoked war of aggression, uh who proveked it? Remember Sept 11 2001. I am proud to serve our Country, also people can complain on this site, we are willing to fight for that rightright. No one is perfect not even past Presidents; the only perfect person was Jesus.
God Bless
SGT B U.S. Army
The Americaan Military has served us honarably since the Nation was formed. I note that a comment questions how the question was phrased & that the military is participating in an unprovoked & illegal war in Iraq.
This is the typical nonsense by those who think we should sit on our haunches & seem to forget a similar situation when Neville Chamberlain’s was waving a piece of paper & saying Mr. Hitler wants peace.
Support our troops.
“I hate to break this to you, but even soldiers are human beings who have the right to think for themselves. Those who don’t sometimes wind up at Nuremberg-like tribunals, plaintively arguing, “I was only following orders.”
Yes, they do have a right to think for themselves, but they MUST follow orders that are legal. His assertion that the war is “illegal”(which it’s not) does not mean his orders were. He was not asked do anything as of yet except to go to Iraq. If going to Iraq in and of itself is illegal I guess anyone who has ever gone there is a criminal. You’re not allowed to disobey an order becuase you’re predicting that somewhere down the road you might be issued an Illegal Order.
Cheers Hooks and Sgt B.
I take pride in our troops. I would just like to say of Lt. Ehren Watada. This person should realise that an officers first priority is to the men and women under their command, their lives are literally in their officers hands. Therefore no matter if you agree or disagree with the war in question what type of officer abandons the troops under their command when they need him/her the most. This officer should be ashamed and fully prosecuted .
Pssst….. Sgt B….. where’ve you been for the past five years? The war in Iraq is NOT a response to the 9/11 attacks. It’s pretty well known (well, at least by those who can read) that Iraq/Saddam weren’t, and aren’t responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the WTC. The person responsible for those attacks is that bin Laden guy, the one from that OTHER country (you know, Afghanistan?), who is presently suspected to be hiding in Pakistan.
I love this country and what it stands for, so much so that I wore the uniform for over 20 years. It makes me angry, and it embarrasses me, that someone using a military rank in their name would be so clueless about the current fighting.
Open your ears, open your eyes, and learn…. THEN speak.
Actually, there is no real strong evidence either way. he made one conclusion and you made the other. This doesn’t make him uniformed, it makes his opinion different then yours. You people always talk about being tolerant so. Hey! be tolerant of people who disagree with you.
Josh…. are you also of the opinion” that Saddam Hussein/Iraq was responsible for the 9/11 bombings?
You’re welcome to your “opinion….” but that “opinion” is wrong. Even our current government has admitted it.
Perhaps you are also of the “opinion” that pigs fly, the earth is flat, and the moon is made of green cheese?
Virginia…no i’m not. Although I haven’t heard anything from our current government about there being no connection with Iraq and 9/11. Unless you have “proof” it is just an opinion.
Wow, maybe someone needs to talk to the Iraqi citizens that I spoke with when I was there. Ninety percent seemed to be in favor of our liberation. Also do some research we haven’t recieved oil from Iraq since 1983. Over two decades.
If the war was illegal I think the UN would have something to say about it, dont you?
also Cheney and Bush have served in the Army for those ignorant people who base an opionion without any facts, except those show by the media. News flash the media only shows bad news and a two second clip of anything good.
the ethical grounds of this war should have nothing to do with the country’s confidence in the military.
While I don’t agree with the rationale used to get us into Iraq (most of it was bad intel - ruined Colin Powell, sadly) and believe that there were higher ethical means of taking Saddam out of power, I think we have a moral obligation to clean up the mess we made (the infrastructure of the country was heavily damaged by taking out Saddam; leaving a void would send it back to Pre-WWI times) and ensure a stable government takes over. This should also be done is timely manner (say over the next 2-3 years - just enough time to test the new government - with troop slowly stepping down frlom that point).
I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I ship out for USMCRD San Diego on the 23rd.
I’m glad people trust our service men and women, even if our political heads of the military are exploiting them.