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Location: Nashville, Tennessee, United States

3/26/2003

Another Poll
A poll by the Pew Research Center finds high and steady support for the war:

There are no indications that declining optimism about progress in the war is affecting overall support for military action or President Bush's handling of the conflict. Roughly seven-in-ten Americans say it was the right decision to use military force against Iraq, a figure that remained fairly stable during the polling period. And about the same number (71%) give the president positive marks for his handling of the war.

The American people may have wrongly believed - thanks to a lazy media that provided them too little information - that all of the armed thugs in Iraq would simply surrender, leaving Saddam standing naked in the center of Baghdad. After all, that's basically what happened in the first war with Iraq. But back in 1991, Saddam's soldiers and terrorists had far less to fight for. We were there merely to boot him out of Kuwait. But in this war there are a few tens of thousands of Iraqis who have no future once Saddam is gone. They will be hunted down by the people they helped him oppress. They have nothing to lose by fighting the Americans and the Brits - either way they are going to die. A few tough days of combat has enlightened the American public that this won't be easy. But, as the President and Rumsfeld and the generals are fond of saying, the end is not in doubt. Saddam's regime will be removed. Steady support for the war as shown in the Pew, Gallup and New York Times/CBS polls proves the American people are not averse to casualties as long as they believe in the policy - and believe the president fully intends to see things through.