Poll: Majority say Iraq situation didn't merit war

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

A majority of American registered voters now say conditions in Iraq did not merit war, but most are reluctant to abandon efforts there, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.

Voters are increasingly concerned that Iraq is a quagmire America cannot escape, and they are doubtful that a democratic government will be established there, according to the poll published in today's editions of the Times.

Fifty-three percent of respondents said the situation in Iraq did not merit war, while 43 percent said war was justified. When the same question was asked for Times polls in March and November, the numbers were precisely reversed.

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Hmmm. It's interesting that so many people now regret the invasion, but still think we need to stay the course. I guess I can kind of understand that logic: after all, the US is the strongest military power in the world; if we can't pull it off, who can?

What's wrong with this line of thinking is that it assumes that the problem facing Iraq right now is military in nature. Despite the continued fighting, the problem is actually political: how will Iraq become, once again, a sovereign, stable nation? Regardless of all our firepower, or, perhaps, because of it, America is ill-suited to provide the answer to this question. The fighting in Iraq continues because our military is an occupying force; it seems reasonable to assume that if we pulled out, a lot of the shooting would end.

Really, it ought to be a coalition of Muslim nations dealing with the reconstruction, managed by the UN. It would still be a rough ride, but it would have a much better chance of succeeding if the aggressor nation wasn't involved.

But then, if the US pulled out, America wouldn't be able to control the Persian Gulf oil spigot. And, oh my Christian God, some kind of anti-American Muslim dominated government might eventually assume control, and our fundamentalist White House will have none of that. So I guess that means we're in it for the long haul, and it may be a very long haul, indeed.

Actually, what I'm really waiting for is an apology from some of those people who have changed their minds about the invasion for how the American anti-war left was so thoroughly demonized last year. I'm not holding my breath, though.

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