The Redhunter

The poll cited as evidence of this claim is apparently one published in MilitaryCity in December. Both the Washington Times and an editorial in National Review mention the MilitaryCity poll as the source. I searched the Senatory's web site but could find nothing there.

On the surface, what the paper reports looks pretty bad

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 slight ly 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 ap proval of the president’s war lead ership has slumped, his overall approval remains high among the military.

Just as telling, in this year’s poll only 41 percent of the military said the U.S. should have gone to war in Iraq in the first place, down from 65 percent in 2003. That closely reflects the beliefs of the general population today — 45 percent agreed in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll.

However, go down a bit further and you find this:

The mail survey, conducted Nov. 13 through Dec. 22, is the fourth annual gauge of active-duty mili tary subscribers to the Military Times newspapers. The results should not be read as representative of the military as a whole; the survey’s respondents are on average older, more experienced, more likely to be officers and more career-oriented than the overall military population.

Oops. Looks like the good Senator didn't read the whole article.

W. Thomas Smith Jr., former US Marine, writing in National Review points out that if morale is as low as the MilitaryCity poll would suggest it is, then reenlistment rates would be low. However, they are higher now than they were before 9-11. In addition, he says, all such polls show is that "soldiers and sailors gripe".

As mentioned above, the poll is very unscientific and thus is not to be trusted. Smith elaborates

...unlike polls conducted among the general populace, independent news polls taken solely among military personnel almost never reflect a consensus of the military, because most military personnel won’t participate. They’re extremely cautious about speaking on or off the record — even anonymously — without permission. The ones who are content and support the decisions of their superiors are often quiet, as are the discontented. But if one is to speak, it is usually the one who is perhaps disgruntled.

Finally, I'll simply point out that anti-war types are in the process of setting up a bunch of new rules regarding when we can use military force, and perhaps more importantly, when troops should be withdrawn.

They think they are being very clever, thinking "ha! a poll shows that the majority of military personnel think we should withdraw from Iraq, we can use this!"

So we'll call this one the "Jim Webb rule", and it goes like this: "Before and during all military operations, polls will be conducted of active-duty military personnel. If a majority do not approve of an operation, it will not be executed. If during execution they do not approve of the tactics or strategy, they will be changed. And if a majority lose confidence in the overall operation, the troops will be withdrawn."

But one day all this will be over. We will have either won or lost in Iraq. Someday a Democrat will be president. But there will still be an anti-war movement, who is going to remember all these little rules. The Democrat in the White House will have to face the real world, and will have to make tough decisions. One day he (or heaven forbid she) will have to order the use of military force.

And all these little rules are going to come back to haunt him.

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