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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Poll: 1 in 3 vets sees Iraq, Afghan wars as wastes WASHINGTON (AP) — One in three U.S. veterans of the post-Sept. 11 military believes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting, and a majority think that after 10 years of combat America should be focusing less on foreign affairs and more on its own problems, according to an opinion survey released Wednesday. The findings highlight a dilemma for the Obama administration and Congress as they struggle to shrink the government's huge budget deficits and reconsider defense priorities while trying to keep public support for remaining involved in Iraq and Afghanistan for the longer term. Nearly 4,500 U.S. troops have died in Iraq and nearly 1,700 in Afghanistan. Combined war costs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have topped $1 trillion. The poll results presented by the Pew Research Center portray post-Sept. 11 veterans as proud of their work, scarred by warfare and convinced that the American public has little understanding of the problems that wartime service has created for military members and their families. The survey also showed that post-Sept. 11 veterans are more likely than Americans as a whole to call themselves Republicans and to disapprove of President Barack Obama's performance as commander in chief. They also are more likely than earlier generations of veterans to have no religious affiliation. The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan organization that studies attitudes and trends, called the study the first of its kind. The results were based on two surveys conducted between late July and mid-September. One polled 1,853 veterans, including 712 who had served in the military after Sept. 11, 2001 but are no longer on active duty. Of the 712 post-Sept. 11 veterans, 336 served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The other polled 2,003 adults who had not served in the military. Nearly half of post-Sept. 11 veterans said deployments strained their relationship with their spouses, and a similar share reported problems with their children. On the other hand, 60 percent said they and their families benefited financially from having served abroad in a combat zone. Asked for a single word to describe their experiences, the war veterans offered a mixed picture: "rewarding," ''nightmare," ''eye opening," ''lousy." There are about 98,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, where the conflict began with a U.S.-led invasion on Oct. 7, 2001. Obama campaigned for the presidency in 2008 on getting out of Iraq and ramping up the military campaign in Afghanistan. He is on track to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of this year, and in July he announced that he would pull 10,000 troops out of Afghanistan this year and 23,000 more by next September. The Pew survey found that veterans are ambivalent about the net value of the wars, although they generally were more positive about Afghanistan, which has been a more protracted but less deadly conflict for U.S. forces. One-third of post-Sept. 11 veterans said neither war was worth the sacrifices; that was the view of 45 percent in the separate poll of members of the general public. Fifty percent of veterans said Afghanistan was worth it, whereas the poll of civilians put it at 41 percent. Among veterans, 44 percent said Iraq was worth it. That compares with 36 percent in the poll of civilians. Of the surveyed former service members who were seriously wounded or knew someone who was killed or seriously wounded, 48 percent said the war in Iraq was worth fighting, compared with 36 percent of those veterans who had no personal exposure to casualties. Exposure to casualties had an even larger impact on attitudes toward the war in Afghanistan. Fifty-five percent of those exposed to casualties said Afghanistan has been worth the cost to the U.S., whereas 40 percent of those who were not exposed to casualties held that same view. Pew said its survey results found "isolationist inclinations" among post-Sept. 11 war veterans. About 6-in-10 said the United States should pay less attention to problems overseas and instead concentrate on problems at home. In a Pew survey conducted earlier this year, a similar share of the general public agreed. The survey also reflected what many view as a troublesome cultural gap between the military and the general public. Although numerous polls have shown that Americans hold the military in high regard, the respondents in the Pew research acknowledged a lack of understanding of what military life entails. Only 27 percent of adult civilians said the public understands the problems facing those in uniform, and the share of veterans who said so is even lower — 21 percent. ___Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at twitter.com/robertburnsAP Reply 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down1 SSGT USMC I don't consider it so much of a waste even though I am partially disabled from War.I signed on the line of my own free will and would do so again because you can train until the cows come home but training and War are different games and the Military needs experienced men and women who have endured the horrors of War,and survived,to train the next generation of green recruits for the next War.People need to understand we volunteered for the meat grinder knowing the cost.I fear the next War may have the draft reinstated and remember the selective service form you signed?You should because when War breaks out again,and it will,your hide will belong to the military and you will be thankful that you are being trained by a battle hardened Vet even if you hate their guts but these are the very people who will train you to survive.War is an ugly,dirty job but someone has to do it and as cornball as it sounds and as long as there are Humans there will always be Wars because that is our nature like it or not.Troops don't start Wars,politics do and that will never change so we can not allow ourselves the luxury of becoming soft because our enemies sure as Hell won't so we need to stay as sharp as razors.I am not a Warmonger as I have been accused of but just a Marine who got the job done or died trying.People can try to rationalize War all they want but until your tempered by your first and many firefights to follow you will never fully understand,but what do I know?I'm just a grunt in the chain of command. masterzvoice 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down2 It's sad because your post just shouts at how sick you are. And I mean that with the deepest of compassion. Read the Bible, get psychiatric help. Do something to heal your mind. Paul One in three indicates the ignorance of these folks but at least some are catching on. However, all are far from realizing these wars were worth it only to the manipulative Jews of Israel and just some of the 500 members of Congress who rely on the Israeli lobby for arranging money, manpower and media for successful election to office. Tatarewicz 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down3 Kevin Want to end these useless wars?? See Below This has to be done at least 3 months before the primary.(for most states that means Oct 14th)..so dont wait! if you live in one of these states, and support Dr Ron Paul, but are currently NOT registered as 'Republican', you must re-register as a REPUBLICAN to vote for him in the critical primaries! * ARIZONA, CONNECTICUT, COLORADO, DELAWARE, FLORIDA, MARYLAND, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, OREGON, OKLAHOMA, NEBRASKA, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH DAKOTA, UTAH, WEST VIRGINIA, DIST. of COLUMBIA. Primary votes are needed to get Dr Paul (or any Repub)the party nomination, which will then get him on the Presidential ballot. Re-registering is easy, and it'll be the best 5 minutes you've ever spent. POST THIS MESSAGE ON FORUMS EVERYWHERE Peter S: Keep fighting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Israel Loves You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
That as does the Military Industrial Complex. Rah, rah, rah. And how good is it that the Dream Act of CA and Texas and other states to follow (if the Dems hold the WH and the Senate in 11/2012) allows poor illegal aliens a CHOICE to go to college or serve in the military but alas that choice is not offered to poor US citizens who have only 1 choice to get a subsidized college education ( if they make it out of Israel's wars alive) ie. that is to join the US military to fight in foreign wars. Nice! God bless Mexico! God bless Israel!
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