Occupation of Iraq, a Republican partisan thing

A Seattle Times headline says "Should we leave Iraq? Major split in state". The poll of Washington voters says that 44% think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, while 50% think we should get out. A closer look at the results of the poll by Elway Research shows Republicans clinging to the "stay the course" fantasy while majorities of Democrats and independent want our troops out of Iraq.

	Democrats	Independents	Republicans
Withdraw Immediately	27%	22%	5%
Withdraw within 12-18 months	44%	31%	16%
Leave when Iraqis can keep the peace	21%	32%	66%
Permanent Presence	4%	6%	16%
No answer	3%	9%	3%

And there's good reason to withdraw our troops, the Iraqi people want us out of their country. Bush did say that 'as the Iraqi's stand up, we'll stand down'. Well, the Iraqi people are standing up and trying to drive out our occupation troops. It's not about 'foreign terrorists', the Iraqi insurgency is made up of Iraqi's who don't want foreigners occupying their country.

Bombs Aimed at G.I.'s in Iraq Are Increasing
This article is by Michael R. Gordon Mark Mazzetti and Thom Shanker

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 -— The number of roadside bombs planted in Iraq rose in July to the highest monthly total of the war, offering more evidence that the anti-American insurgency has continued to strengthen despite the killing of the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Along with a sharp increase in sectarian attacks, the number of daily strikes against American and Iraqi security forces has doubled since January. The deadliest means of attack, roadside bombs, made up much of that increase. In July, of 2,625 explosive devices, 1,666 exploded and 959 were discovered before they went off. In January, 1,454 bombs exploded or were found. ...

... "“The insurgency has gotten worse by almost all measures, with insurgent attacks at historically high levels",” said a senior Defense Department official who agreed to discuss the issue only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for attribution. "The insurgency has more public support and is demonstrably more capable in numbers of people active and in its ability to direct violence than at any point in time." ...

... The increased attacks have taken their toll. While the number of Americans killed in action per month has declined slightly — to 38 killed in action in July, from 42 in January, in part reflecting improvements in armor and other defenses — the number of Americans wounded has soared, to 518 in July from 287 in January. Explosive devices accounted for slightly more than half the deaths. ... (full article) [my emphasis added]