U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% want to get the hell outta there

[asim99]

now that's what they call low morale

http://zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075

An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and nearly one in four say the troops should leave immediately, a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows.

[d_jedi]

Not surprising. Would you want to be over there, or back at home? Hmm.. tough choice ...

[poedua]

Not surprising

74% of the soldiers responding were either on their 2nd or 3rd tour of duty...once would be enough for me .....or most people I'd think
....if anyone asked them in an interview if they should get out within a year I'd expect 100% of these 2nd or 3rd tour guys to say yes

Also seems it is the guys who shouldn't be there in the first place who really want out ( 89% of reserves and 82% of those in the National Guard said the U.S. should leave Iraq within a year , 58% of Marines think so.)

[i6s1]

Most want the mission to be over so they can go home. But since the mission isn't over, most sign up for another tour. Of course they want to go home, but that's not the same thing as low morale.

Or do 72% think that the mission will be over in a year?


I wonder what the exact wording of the question is.

If it really was do you want "to get the hell outta" here? (To borrow Asim99's wording) I think that it would be more then then 72% saying yes.

Would you rather be here or at home with your family? 100% would answer "home", 0% would answer "here"

[poedua]

Most want the mission to be over so they can go home. But since the mission isn't over, most sign up for another tour. Of course they want to go home, but that's not the same thing as low morale.

Or do 72% think that the mission will be over in a year?



I wonder what the exact wording of the question is.

Good point...i don't think I saw the word "morale" noted anywhere in the article.

Also, wonder what % of respondants were soldiers, what % were officers

[i6s1]

Good point...i don't think I saw the word "morale" noted anywhere in the article.

Also, wonder what % of respondants were soldiers, what % were officers

It also seemed like a lot of women were surveyed, it says 3 in 4 questioned were men. I don't think that this is representitive, I thought women would be fewer then 1 in 4 soldiers in Iraq.

[simplyno]

shocking. I definately would want to stay in a place where theres a good chance everyday that I could be blown up by a suicide bomber or a roadside bomb.

[FastFokker]

It also seemed like a lot of women were surveyed, it says 3 in 4 questioned were men. I don't think that this is representitive, I thought women would be fewer then 1 in 4 soldiers in Iraq.

Really? I would have thought it'd be much higher than 1 out of 4. There are a lot of women in the military, unfortunately (or not) there's a lot of a positions in the US Military for which females are excluded.

Perhaps the lack of females in specific roles is what leads to the perception of so few. I'll try and dig up some stats, it would be interesting.

As for this topic, seems like everyone wants the US out of Iraq. Iraqis want them out, US Soldiers want to get out, US Citizens want their country out, Other nations want them out.. yet they remain.

This has turned into a major lose-lose proposition. Stay, you lose. Leave, you lose. American has truly fudged this operation up and should stop exercising it's authority on the world.

YOU'RE GROUNDED FOR THE NEXT 2 DECADES!

[FastFokker]

http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/demogr...ofileWebVs.pdf

[blackhawk]

the OP has an agenda and a side hence his personal comments implying that "low morale" and "get the hell outta there" was anywhere in the survey

unsurprising results and actually thought the troops must be fairly well motivated after many being extended and the fact there are a lot of national guards there (generally part time and have families)

[asim99]

when a soldier is crying to go to mommy, rather than finishing the mission at hand (a mission that was wrong to start with, and is getting worse everyday), it tells me what kind of morale he has, what kind of trust he has in his leadership, or how coward he is

they are in the middle of a mess they created, and now they want to bail...sounds like horribly cowardly to me

[insanity]

They should do a poll to see how many US citizens want to get out of the US

[i6s1]

http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/demogr...ofileWebVs.pdf

1 in 5.5 soldiers is male... does this extend to the Iraqi theater? I'd have to assume so, women are excluded from front line combat, so I don't see any reason that the ratio should be lower in Iraq, the ratio is likely the same or higher.

[65505201]

when a soldier is crying to go to mommy, rather than finishing the mission at hand (a mission that was wrong to start with, and is getting worse everyday), it tells me what kind of morale he has, what kind of trust he has in his leadership, or how coward he is

they are in the middle of a mess they created, and now they want to bail...sounds like horribly cowardly to me

I think you're just trying to find any excuse to bash the States and its army.

Many soldiers want to go home. Are you calling them cowards because they're afraid of random roadside bombings and deadly attacks? Getting shell-shocked and being shot at isn't exactly my idea of fun. There's an another thread in OT about "why do you get up to go to work every morning." Are you really that surprised that these soldiers find it a tad harder to get to 'work' everyday?

Now, knowing the deadly implications of service in Iraq, these solders are still leaving their families behind to serve their country. A REAL coward would've taken a train to Canada and skipped duty. So far, I haven't heard of any major stories of soldiers skipping duty.

As for the mess they started, keep in mind that it was the politicians, not the soldiers that started this war. If you want to bash somebody, bash the person that was actually responsible, i.e. GW.

O wait. Nevermind. You already take every opportunity to bash the States.

EDIT: I'm sure you're going to comment on how these soldiers are all there voluntarily. Many didn't anticipate serving extending tours when they signed up for the education/experience packages that the forces offered.

[poedua]

when a soldier is crying to go to mommy, rather than finishing the mission at hand (a mission that was wrong to start with, and is getting worse everyday), it tells me what kind of morale he has, what kind of trust he has in his leadership, or how coward he is

they are in the middle of a mess they created, me what kind of morale he has

You've looked the the objective data and drawn a subjective and erroneous conclusion IMO ......."a soldier is crying to go to mommy " ( your spin only ) ....... "tells me what kind of morale he has " ( a spurious conclusion )

As I said before, 74% of the soldiers responding were either on their 2nd or 3rd tour of duty....these guys already HAVE dnoe their part for the mission at hand....of course they want to go home in year....it's morale and nothing to do with morale or "mommy ". And again, only 58% of Marines agreed that less than 1 year is the way to go...almot 80% of the part-time force wants to get the hell out of there...this deployment scenatio was not of the scenario when they signed up in the Guard.

" they are in the middle of a mess they created, and now they want to bail...sounds like horribly cowardly to me "...Americancan't win...they decide to stay and they're called invading terrorists...the muse about leaving
and they're called " cowardly " ... "coward he is "

Americans are many things ...and i don't agree with the rationale for this invasion...but the Americans are anything but cowards.......terrorists who purposely target civilans.....bombing civiilans in buses, markets, restaurants, hotels and schools...killing innocent infants, women and elderly...that is cowardly IMO.