[NYTr] Two polls suggest grim view of surge

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

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Boston Globe - Sep 10, 2007
http://boston.com/news/globe/

2 polls suggest grim view of surge

Petraeus set to testify as pressures mount

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff 

WASHINGTON - As General David H. Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq,
prepared to report to Congress today on gains made by the surge of
30,000 additional US troops in Iraq, two national polls released
yesterday indicated that a majority of Americans believe the increased
US troop presence has failed to deliver significant improvements in the
war-torn country.

The polls are troubling signs for the Bush administration's intensifying
efforts to keep up American support for a large-scale troop presence in
Iraq.

Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, are slated to
testify before four Congressional committees today and tomorrow. They
are widely expected to report limited political progress in Iraq, but
some significant military gains, including a reduction in sectarian
violence and a new partnership with Sunni Muslim groups to fight Al
Qaeda in Iraq forces in Anbar Province. Later this week, President Bush
will announce his plans for the US military in Iraq.

Even before the week of high-stakes testimony begins, the report by
Petraeus and Crocker has been the subject of a full-throttle public
relations battle, as the administration and its supporters seek to turn
the tide of US public opinion about the war, while those favoring a
pullout seek to raise doubts about Petraeus's assessment.

Moveon.org, a liberal group that opposes the war, will run an ad today
in The New York Times that asks: "General Petraeus or General Betray
Us?" The ad suggests that Petraeus is "cooking the books for the White
House" by overstating progress there. Meanwhile, a conservative group
called Freedom's Watch has launched a $15 million advertising campaign
in 20 states. The group, which counts among its board members former
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, was formed "to give a voice
to those who believe that victory is America's only choice," according
to its website.

The administration has intensified efforts to get out the word about
what it sees as significant positive developments in Iraq. In addition
to the president's two major speeches in recent weeks on the
consequences of failure in Iraq, and his surprise visit to Anbar
Province last week, the administration has made a coordinated,
behind-the-scenes effort to generate support for the war.

Since the surge was announced in January, the White House has hosted
bimonthly sessions for skeptical congressional aides, analysts, and
opinion-makers to link them, via videoconference, with US officials in
Iraq who could speak about progress being made on the ground.

"Our main goal is to get more information out about what's going on to
more different audiences," Mark Pfeifle, the administration's deputy
national security adviser for communications, said in an interview. "The
more people we can reach out to and talk to, the more the public will
know and understand the challenges and what's at stake."

In recent weeks, two additional public affairs officers have temporarily
joined a joint outreach effort by the White House, the State Department,
and the Defense Department. The joint team has intensified the
administration's public relations campaign, organizing three such
videoconferences for reporters with members of the provincial
reconstruction team in Iraq.

Veterans groups that support the war say the White House has been in
closer touch with them recently, regularly sending updates and
information. Country singer and comedian Johnny Counterfit, who wrote a
song called "We're In It, Let's Win It" about Iraq, said in an interview
that he recently received a call from Claude Chafin, a White House aide,
asking for permission to send the song to various constituents.

Some say the administration's outreach and the Petraeus report are
having an impact. A flurry of high-profile op-eds by analysts who have
toured Iraq with US military officials described new evidence of
progress on the ground.

"I sense a change in mood," Iraq's ambassador to the United States,
Samir Sumaida'ie, said during a C-SPAN "Newsmakers" interview
yesterday. "I sense a greater degree of preparedness to listen and to
consider the situation afresh. I can almost hear people thinking,
'Well, this might just work.' That is a change in atmosphere, a change
in the mood, and I hope this will result in change approach towards
Iraq."

But the two polls released yesterday suggest that the administration
still faces an uphill battle convincing Americans that Iraq can still
become a success. According to the ABC/Washington Post poll, 58 percent
of respondents said they felt the US surge had no impact on the
situation there, while 12 percent said they felt it had made things
worse. Fifty-three percent of those polled said they believed that
Petraeus would present an assessment that is more positive than the
reality on the ground. Only 39 percent thought he would portray the
situation honestly.

However, a CBS/New York Times poll, released late yesterday, showed that
68 percent of respondents said they would trust the military most with
successfully resolving the war in Iraq compared with just 21 percent who
trusted Congress most and 5 percent who trusted the Bush administration
most. The poll also showed that 45 percent of respondents believe the
surge had no impact while 12 percent believe it had made the situation
worse.

Bush, in his weekly radio address Saturday, urged people to listen to
Petraeus and Crocker before "jumping to any conclusions" about the way
forward for the United States in Iraq.

But Democrats announced their skepticism yesterday before his testimony.

"We're going to hear General Petraeus, who's going to give a report on
how good General Petraeus has done over there," Senator Edward M.
Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on the CBS program "Face the
Nation" yesterday. "It looks like General Petraeus is going to ask for
six more months. And it's clear that this administration is trying to
delay the ultimate judgment until the next president gets into
office. . . . In the meantime, American servicemen and women are paying
the price. That is fundamentally wrong."

Senator John F. Kerry, another Massachusetts Democrat, said on ABC's
"This Week" that "none of us should be fooled" by the debate over
Petraeus's testimony on tactical military successes. Kerry said only
political reconciliation by Iraq's warring factions could produce real
success.

Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, told CNN's "Late
Edition" that he has an open mind about the report. But he also said,
"Unless we see some light at the end of the tunnel here, very closely
examining what General Petraeus and others have to say, I think there's
a general sense that there needs to be a new policy."

) Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company