Opinion shift on effect of surge?

Financial Times:

US public opinion on military progress in Iraq has improved sharply since the troops “surge” started in February but a majority of Americans still want soldiers brought home, according to a new poll.

Some 48 per cent of Americans now believe that the US ­military effort in Iraq is going well, compared with 30 per cent in February, according to the latest poll by the Pew Research Center.

But the poll found that the “rosier view of the military situation in Iraq has not translated into increased support for maintaining US forces in Iraq”. Some 54 per cent of Americans want the Pentagon to bring troops home, compared with 53 per cent in February.

The improved public perception coincides with the military’s reporting of a significant decline in attacks against it, particularly since June when the five combat brigades that made up the surge had arrived. While 575 US soldiers lost their lives in the first half of 2007, the total since the beginning of July is fewer than 300.

The number of Iraqi deaths has also dropped ­significantly, although some critics suggest the data do not take into account violence in the south, where the US does not have a large military presence.

...

You have to ask what kind of denial the other 52 percent of the people are. You also have to wonder how long it will take to get a majority to see the importance of our victory in defeating al Qaeda in their central front of their war against us.

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