Poll: U.S. troops lose confidence in Bush

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. soldiers are losing confidence in the way President George W. Bush is running the Iraq war.

According to a new poll conducted by the Military Times newspapers, "For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president's handling of the war than approve of it," the Army Times reported Dec. 29.

"Barely one-third of service members approve of the way the president is handling the war," the newspaper said.

The findings of the poll, which was conducted by a mail survey from Nov. 13 through Nov. 22, marked a significant fall in the president's popularity and credibility with members of the U.S. armed forces, who had previously been among his staunchest supporters. In a previous Military Times poll two years ago, 83 percent of poll expected victory in Iraq. "This year, that number has shrunk to 50 percent," the Army Times said.

"Only 35 percent of the military members polled this year said they approve of the way President Bush is handling the war, while 42 percent said they disapproved," the newspaper said. This marked a dramatic decline from the 63 percent who approved of his conduct of the war in the 2004 poll.

The paper noted that contrary to widely held assumptions, the president's popularity among the U.S. armed forces is now "only slightly higher than for the population as a whole."

The poll was the fourth to be conducted among active duty military subscribers to the Military Times newspapers. "The results should not be read as representative of the military as a whole," the Army Times said. "The survey's respondents are on average older, more experienced, more likely to be officers and more career-oriented than the overall military population."