Iraq war still irks voters

Nevadans continue to be more opposed to the U.S. policy in Iraq than supportive of it although new results from a Review-Journal poll show a slight increase in support since President Bush announced his troop surge this year.

Overall, Nevada has followed a nationwide trend of waning support for the war effort the past three years even though the poll taken last week of 625 registered voters statewide shows 3 percent more support Bush's Iraq policy than in April.

The poll, conducted for the Review-Journal by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C., found that 41 percent back Bush's Iraq policy and 51 percent oppose it, leaving 8 percent undecided.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The results were about the same as in April when 52 percent of the respondents said they opposed Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq. In that poll, 38 percent supported the idea, and 10 percent were undecided.

"Support for the war is up slightly and in a very narrow group," Brad Coker, Mason-Dixon's managing partner, said Friday when the results were released.

In general, the breakdown shows the biggest supporters are Republican men and the biggest opponents are Democratic women. And, voters in Clark County are more strongly opposed to the war effort than those in rural Nevada.

Opinions about the war, as well, followed party lines with 73 percent of the Republicans who were surveyed supporting Bush's war policy and 86 percent of Democrats opposing it.

Three years ago, Nevadans were generally more supportive of Bush's stance on the war than the rest of the nation. A poll then by Mason-Dixon showed that 54 percent of Nevadans approved of Bush's handling of the war while 38 percent disapprove and 8 percent weren't sure.

The swing since then in each direction -- support being down and opposition being up -- is the same, at 13 percent.

Douglas Webster, a Marine master sergeant who served a pair of seven-month tours in Iraq as a senior enlisted combat operations adviser said, "Even the basic soldier has misgivings about being there."

"The only thing I see working is that we're bringing the fight to them instead of bringing it here," said Webster, who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2006 and was awarded a Bronze Star medal for meritorious service.

Webster said he wasn't surprised by the poll results.

The surge and continued U.S. military presence in Iraq is "adding more fuel to the fire and not getting anything done."

"We're not helping the civil war," he said.

Webster said the troops that are trying to help Iraqi soldiers stand up on their own are "tired of propping them up with toothpicks."

Nevertheless, the Marines and U.S. soldiers on the ground have maintained "incredible morale despite what the public feels.

"As a professional, you do what you're told," he said. "I just hope I don't have to go back."