Iraq: voters want British troops home by end of yearMaybe, or maybe not... much comedy here.
Fresh pressure on Blair as public back calls for early withdrawalJulian Glover, Richard Norton-Taylor and Patrick Wintour
Tuesday October 24, 2006
The GuardianA clear majority of voters want British troops to be pulled out of Iraq by the end of this year, regardless of the consequences for the country, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today.
In a sign that public opinion is hardening against Britain's military presence in Iraq, 61% of voters say they want British troops to leave this year, even if they have not completed their mission and Washington wants them to stay.
Only 30% now back the prime minister's commitment to keep troops in Iraq as long as is considered necessary.
Almost half of those questioned - 45% - want British forces pulled out immediately and a further 16% want them to leave by the end of the year, whether or not the US asks the British government to keep them on. When the Guardian last questioned voters on the issue in September 2005, 51% backed troop withdrawal with 41% arguing that British forces should stay in Iraq until the security situation in the country had improved.....
The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, admitted yesterday that Iraqis may eventually choose to partition the country rather than carry on as a single state.
"That is very much a matter for the Iraqis. They have had enough of people from outside handing down arbitrary boundaries and arbitrary decisions," she told BBC Radio 4's The World At One.
Asked if historians may judge that Iraq had been a foreign policy disaster for Britain, she said: "Yes, they may. Then again, they may not."
Compare with this:
Emanuel's War Plan for DemocratsSo here's the deal: public opinion is great as long as it coincides, or can be made to coincide, with what the dominant sub-gangs of our elite super-gang want to do. When it doesn't coincide, then fuck it. We'll just suspend democracy. Cf. Connecticut.
The Book of Rahm
By JOHN WALSH... Congressman Rahm Emanuel [has] worked hard to guarantee that Democratic candidates in key toss-up House races were pro-war. In this he was largely successful, because of the money he commands and the celebrity politicians who reliably respond to his call, ensuring that 20 of the 22 Democratic candidates in these districts are pro-war. So the fix is in for the coming elections.
In 2006, no matter which party controls the House, a majority will be committed to pursuing the war on Iraq--despite the fact that the Democratic rank and file and the general voting public oppose the war by large margins.
