I found this new YouGov Poll very interesting. It was done between May 16th and 18th of a random national survey of 1,000 adults, and has a margin of error of about 4 points. The poll asked respondents whether they supported sending troops to Iraq in 2003, and then compared those numbers to a 2003 poll done by Gallup. There were some marked differences.
While 63% of the public supported the war back in 2003, in 2015 only 38% are willing to admit they supported that war. The difference is most among Democrats -- while 52% supported the war in 2003, only 19% will admit that today. The difference is smaller among Republicans, but even some of them are now loathe to admit their support -- with support dropping from 84% in 2003 to only 65% now admitting that support.
It was easy to support that war back in 2003 -- with the leaders of both political parties supporting it, and the media beating the drums of war incessantly. But now we know the truth. We know that Bush and Cheney lied to us to get us into that war -- a war they wanted even before 9/11 happened. We also know now that nothing was actually accomplished by that invasion -- except to destroy the nation of Iraq, kill thousands of American soldiers and innocent civilians, and start a religious conflict that is still raging today (taking more lives every day).
As the chart below shows (from that same YouGov Poll), most Americans now believe invading Iraq in 2003 was a serious mistake. Only one group says it wasn't a mistake -- Republicans. That's the same group now wanting us to send more troops to Iraq today to fight.
But sending more troops to Iraq now would be another serious mistake -- and one that the public does not support. A new Rasmussen Poll shows that support for sending more troops to Iraq is dwindling fast. While that support was around 52% in early February, it had dropped to 40% in March -- and now it rests at only 35% (barely more than a third of the public). Americans are tired of fighting wars we cannot win -- especially religious conflicts where neither side is truly our friend.
