Conservatives opposed to redeployment in Iraq have consistently
claimed that U.S. troops are on their side:
President Bush: The [military] families gathered here understand
that our troops want to finish the job.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ):
I want to — and I want to tell you something, sir. I just
finished having Thanksgiving with the troops, and their message
to you is — the message of these brave men and women who
are serving over there is: Let us win. Let us win.
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Yet U.S. troops disagree. Yesterday, the Center for Responsive
Politics reported that members of the military donated the most
not to McCain, but to two anti-war candidates:
Individuals in the Army,
Navy and Air Force made those branches of the armed services
among the top contributors in the 4th Quarter, ranking No. 13,
No. 18 and No. 21, respectively. In 2007, Republican Ron Paul,
who opposes U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, was the
top recipient of money from donors in the military, collecting
at least $212,000 from them. Barack Obama, another war opponent,
was second with about $94,000.
These donations reflect the military’s disapproval with
the Iraq war and President Bush’s handling of it. A recent
Military Times poll found that just 46 percent of U.S. troops
now believe that the country should have invaded Iraq, and only
40 percent approve of Bush’s handling of the war.
