marc rodrigues wrote:
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> incredible.
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> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122943,00.html
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> A disturbing new poll out of Iraq, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo." The survey was commissioned by the coalition itself, and asked more than 1,000 Iraqis a number of questions about the war.
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> The headline is only two percent of Iraqis consider the U.S.A. liberators. Ninety-two percent see us as occupiers. And 41 percent want American troops to leave right now.
I argued several months ago that if over 15% of Iraqis opposed the U.S. occupation, that was a sufficient number to make the occupation impossible. Seemingly I was correct.
Polls are by no means bullshit, but like all facts they are meaningless until interpreted. Those who (in response to earlier polls) emphasized the large numbers of Iraqis who (more or less) supported the occupation or wanted the u.s. to leave only after "stabilizing" the situation (getting the electricity turned on as omeone on this list put it) simply were not thinking politically. They simply could not see that if 15% or more of a population is committed to opposition, no foreign occupation can succeed.
Similarly, the only imnportant domestic poll figure in respect to u.s. intervention in Afghanistan or Iraq that have been politically significant has been the 20%+ of americans who virtually from 912 (not a typo) on opposed u.s. military action. The purpose of the left is to mobilize that 20%, and if we do so, eventually an overwhelming proportion of americans will passively agree with us.
Carrol