Public divisions remain deep and fixed over war

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http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1203/p03s02-ussc.html

Several factors are holding up support that differentiate Iraq from past conflicts.

By Liz Marlantes | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON – Lately, the news out of Iraq has been significant - and sobering: Last month was the second deadliest yet for American troops in Iraq, with 134 confirmed fatalities. Leading up to Thanksgiving weekend, Americans watched a successful - albeit costly - offensive in Fallujah unfold on their television sets. With calls mounting for next month's scheduled election to be postponed, the US now plans to increase troops to the highest levels since the invasion.

Yet so far, American attitudes toward the war appear to have barely budged, suggesting that the same basic divisions that emerged over Iraq during the presidential campaign could in fact hold for some time to come. According to the most recent Gallup poll, 51 percent of Americans believe the US did not make a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, while 47 percent think it did - numbers that have hardly moved at all since the beginning of October.

Of course, some Americans may be waiting to see what happens with the Iraqi election, with the success or failure of that event shaping opinion in the weeks that follow. It's also possible that as the nation moves further away from the polarizing atmosphere of the presidential campaign, attitudes toward the war will move as well.

YET to many experts, the stability of public opinion in recent weeks has been striking - suggesting Americans have hunkered down into two hardened camps, with those opposing the war unlikely to be won over, and those favoring it allowing President Bush a fair amount of leeway in continuing his policies, at least for a while.

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