Army Times is a privately owned publication aimed at people who are very serious about the United States Army. According to their advertising information, more than 80% of the uniformed military reads either the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Times, and many officers and civilian policy-makers read all four.
It is, predictably, pretty gung-ho. It's also fiercely independent and intellectually honest. Army Times does not toe any party line; it's only bias is toward the men and women who serve.
The publication is currently asking its readers, in a highly unscientific poll , "Do you think violence against U.S. forces will diminish after June 30, when Iraqis are scheduled to take control of their government again?"
The results: 85% of Army Times online readers say no, the level of violence in Iraq isn't going to change.
OK, the poll is one of those click-thru web polls that doesn't hold much methodological water. But consider this: The poll was conducted among those who go to the Army Times website, the vast majority of whom are active duty or retired military, are members of military families, work for a manufacturer of military equipment, or are involved in military policy. No doubt, a few bozos like me stumble into their webite, but it's a pretty safe bet that just about everyone visiting ArmyTimes.com is seriously attached to and sophisticated about the military.
And 85% of them think it's not going to get better in Iraq after the June 30th transfer of sovereignty. That's an incredible statistic because our soldiers are not fatalists. A can-do optimism permeates the culture of the American military, and this junky little poll is one indicator that the military community as a whole is not seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
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