September 24, 2005 DC Anti War March

This letter is in regards to your article about local peace activists who went to the anti-war protests in Washington DC on September 24th. The article mentioned that 100,000 protestors were expected in DC. It turned out that over 300,000 people came to Washington to demand that we bring our troops home now. The article also mentions that a pro-war rally was to occur, but doesn’t mention that only 400 people showed up in Washington in support of the war. The article mentions polls that supposedly still show support for the war. What is clear from my reading of the polls is that the public strongly disapproves of the President’s handling of the war. Here are some recent examples: A September 17 New York Times poll found that approval for George W. Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq has dropped from a high of 79% in April 2003 to 36% in mid-September. This decline has helped drive the President’s overall approval level to near-record lows. The same poll indicates that 63% of Americans do not have confidence in Bush’s ability to make the right decisions about the war and 72% do not believe that the President has a clear plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. The New York Times poll also finds that Americans who believe that invading Iraq was the right decision has shrunk from 64% in December 2003 to a low of 44% today. A September 20 USA Today poll confirmed that "a record-high 59% say it was a mistake to invade." A recent CBS/New York Times poll (9/9-9/13) found 52 percent support for leaving Iraq "as soon as possible." A similar Gallup poll (9/16-18) found that 33 percent of the public want some troops withdrawn, with another 30 percent wanting all the troops withdrawn. Only 34 percent wanted to maintain or increase troop levels - positions that could be described as wanting to "stay the course." But these poll numbers have not changed the mind of our Congressman, Frank Lobiondo. It is time for our pro-war cheerleader Congressman Lobiondo to listen to his constituents and do his part to pressure President Bush into developing an exit strategy. One way Lobiondo could do this is by co-sponsoring H.R. 3142, Representative Allen’s bill, which would put Congress on record stating that it is not the policy of the United States to maintain troops in Iraq for the long-term. It is a small step, but if Congressmen like Lobiondo sign on to the bill, it would send a strong message to President Bush. Nearly 2000 American troops have died, over 10,000 have been wounded and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died, all for a war that never should have happened. It is time for Congress to develop some backbone and step up to the plate with a plan to bring our troops home, alive.

NORM COHEN

Linwood

Letter Printed in the Current, September 30, 2005