according to the article, it says "nearly one in four say the troops should leave immediately."  Taking a look at the poll data itself, which they site in the next sentence, 29% of respondents want out immediately.  Last I checked, 25% = "one in four", and 29% > 25%, which would make the more accurate description be "MORE THAN one in four say the troops should leave immediately."  Minor quibble, but the article is downplaying the poll results a bit.

from the poll:

- Only 58% of our troops in Iraq think that "the U.S. mission in Iraq is clear in their minds." A majority, but barely. 100% of our troops should have a clear picture of our mission. This is a complete failure of political leaders like Joe Lieberman, not the military.

- While 72% say we should be out within a year, 53% of troops say "the U.S. should double both the number of troops and bombing missions in order to control the insurgency."

That may seem contradictory, but looked at in tandem with the confusion over the clarity of the mission, it becomes less so. The guys on the ground know we're stuck and not doing what we need to do to win. The sad fact is, there's likely nothing more to do. First, it's impossible to double troop levels given the strain on the armed forces and the lack of coalition partners. And even if it were possible, throwing more troops into the sectarian strife that's boiling over would only worsen the situation.

But our troops are looking deseperately for some answer, any answer, whether that's doubling the troops and bombing the country to bits, or packing up and leaving immediately.

What is certain is that the status quo is untenable to them. The Bush-Lieberman non-policy of "stay the course" is the one thing they can not endure any longer.

Wait a second though. Do we still vote for these loser Dems?

I mean, it's easy to not give money to a shrill putz like Hillary, but would I still vote for her if her utter Iraki cluelessness continues?

On second thought, is there maybe a reason the bagmen and women on the Democratic side of the aisle still are working the "we can do Irak better" angle?

I mean, it can't be on principle, because principles have been damned and double damned in this affair since day one.

And it can't have been acceding to the wishes of their constituents who, by and large, aren't with them on this thing.

And finally, it can't be for pragmatic reasons, for with each passing month over there, it becomes obvious that the simple fact of US occupation there makes things not better, but worse. (Incidentally, the French in the preson of their FM, their Defence Minister, and their Ambassador to the US, conservatives all, have been saying this since the invasion began...)

What can be the reason these Dem bag men and women are still "in it until it's fixed"?

Perhaps this is the party line their corporate donor base insists they continue to hew.

72% want out?

Really?

I think these must be self-hating troops...

85% think they are retaliating against Saddam's role in 9/11? Says it all really. It follows from this level of boneheaded stupidity that you get Abu Ghraib, White Phosphorus, daily shootings of civilians. Oh - and Guantanamo Bay ('Honour Bound - To Defend Freedom'). Blacker by the day.

Check this link for more military words of wisdom:

http://www.antiwar.com/ips/fisher.php?ar ticleid=8614

I think that maybe some of them (72%) have come to realize that what they are there for has become something of a losing situation. These men and women are constantly losing their lives to a faceless enemy. There should be more talk on how we should withdraw these troops during this next year rather than how we should increase our power.