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CNN Live Sunday

New Poll Shows Half Of Americans Disapprove Of Bush's Handling Of Iraq

Aired November 09, 2003 - 18:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, so far, polls show half of Americans disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. 51 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove, 42 percent say they approve. We are taking a pulse of the nation right now. Arnold Garcia is the editorial page editor at the "Austin American Statesman. And Jim Vesely holds the same title at "The Seattle Times." Two very different parts of the country. Good to see both of you. Thanks for joining us.
JIM VESELY, "SEATTLE TIMES": Thank you, Carol.

ARNOLD GARCIA, "AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN": Thank you. Good to be here.

LIN: Good to see. Jim, Fort Lewis and other bases near you are involved this effort in Iraq. I'm wondering what you're hearing from folks on the ground there.

VESELY: Well clearly, the war is coming home. The Fort Lewis Striker Bringade has left for Iraq. This is the army's new, highly mobile brigade that uses a brand new vehicle. I have gone down to Ft. Lewis and seen it. It looks like a very lethal hippopotomus.

But more importantly, I think is that the Washington National Guard has been activated. 3,400 men and women of the guard will be going to Iraq very soon and that means 3,400 families in Washington for whom the war is suddenly has a much sharper edge.

LIN: Arnold, are you finding the same thing with the folks out of Fort Hood?

GARCIA: Many of the units, as you know, at Fort Hood, have been mobilized and deployed to Iraq. We just carried a story in the past ten days that said three corps, which is a command and control component, is being deployed and should be over there pretty soon.

In addition, individual units of the Texas National Guard and individual members of the Texas National Guard are mobilized. Yes, we're very aware of how close to home the war is hitting now.

LIN: Yes. Arnold, as far as public opinion is concerned, when, you know, a lot happened in the last six months, I mean, now the death toll since major combat ended is actually higher than when major fighting takes place, so what is public opinion? Is there still support in Austin for the rebuilding of Iraq? Are these lives lost worth the effort? GARCIA: Well, in Austin, we have -- in the Austin area, we have five institutions of higher learning. It's a little more liberal than the rest of the state, so there was always a weariness to outright opposition to the war with pockets of support.

LIN: Has that changed in the last several months?

GARCIA: It's changed, I think, incrementally. We carried a letter to the editor in the last couple of day from a man that identified himself as a Korean War veteran and a Republican expressing a great deal of skepticism about the war and its toll on individuals and the soldiers.

LIN: Jim, are you finding the same?

VESELY: Yes. It's very much as my colleague in Austin describes it. There is an urban America for whom the war will never be justified and probably never will be won. And, outside of that, then there's suburban crescent of voters who are generally Republican, but who often ask themselves, is this the right direction to go? And then another group of Americans who are solidly behind the president and behind the war effort.

We have protests here all the time. And as we heard in this case, just this last Friday, a protest on the campus of the University of Washington, this was part of the Dennis Kucinich campaign that rolled through town. But I'm starting to sense, though, that there are protests, but none that have the power of a funeral. That it's the funerals of the men who are coming home beneath their flags, I think, that is having the larger and more indelible effect than the protests that we hear about and listen to all the time.

LIN: I'm sure you both remember Vietnam. How does this compare to the early days of Vietnam. I mean, in Vietnam, you think about that conflict, it was 15 years and 58,000 lives, is there a growing sense out there that the United States could be involved in another Vietnam, Arnold?

GARCIA: That analogy is used often here. I lived through the Vietnam era. I was drafted in 1969. I do see some parallels, but I see a great deal of difference.

And the difference is that in the Vietnam era, you had the conscription component that we haven't seen yet. And I say, yet, because I saw Senator McCain on one of the Sunday talk shows this morning raising that possibility and you hear that. You're just starting to hear that now and I think that's going to escalate. If that happens...

LIN: Jim, what do you think?

VESELY: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I think Arnold is exactly right. I covered some of the protests during the Vietnam War as a younger reporter. I think now if we talk about national conscription, I don't think that's going to work at all. LIN: But also, the nature of -- you talk about the National Guard being called up increasingly now and taking on combat duties. Do you think that's going to change the nature of public opinions? Because these are regular Joes. This is the guy in the cubicle next door. If the deaths continue to mount, do you think there will be among supporters a sense of patriotism or does it make a difference that the common man is on the front line.

VESELY: I think it does make a difference. Just this last week we had a little going away party for people in the circulation department of the "Seattle Times" who were called up. And there is nothing that brings it home as suddenly to feel the impact of that on individual families.

LIN: Arnold, I'll give you a quick last word.

GARCIA: Okay.

Absolutely. And the use of the increaseing dependence on the reserve and guard components amounts to, as one of the editorial writers said in a meeting yesterday, a back door draft.

LIN: That's interesting. A back door draft. In a sense even though it's a volunteer army, but these guys didn't sign up with the idea of spending their Christmas in the desert, I sure, certainly under these battle conditions. We'll see what happens. Thank you very much, Arnold Garcia and Jim Vesely.

GARCIA: Thank you, Carol.

END

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Handling Of Iraq>


Aired November 9, 2003 - 18:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, so far, polls show half of Americans disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. 51 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove, 42 percent say they approve. We are taking a pulse of the nation right now. Arnold Garcia is the editorial page editor at the "Austin American Statesman. And Jim Vesely holds the same title at "The Seattle Times." Two very different parts of the country. Good to see both of you. Thanks for joining us.
JIM VESELY, "SEATTLE TIMES": Thank you, Carol.

ARNOLD GARCIA, "AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN": Thank you. Good to be here.

LIN: Good to see. Jim, Fort Lewis and other bases near you are involved this effort in Iraq. I'm wondering what you're hearing from folks on the ground there.

VESELY: Well clearly, the war is coming home. The Fort Lewis Striker Bringade has left for Iraq. This is the army's new, highly mobile brigade that uses a brand new vehicle. I have gone down to Ft. Lewis and seen it. It looks like a very lethal hippopotomus.

But more importantly, I think is that the Washington National Guard has been activated. 3,400 men and women of the guard will be going to Iraq very soon and that means 3,400 families in Washington for whom the war is suddenly has a much sharper edge.

LIN: Arnold, are you finding the same thing with the folks out of Fort Hood?

GARCIA: Many of the units, as you know, at Fort Hood, have been mobilized and deployed to Iraq. We just carried a story in the past ten days that said three corps, which is a command and control component, is being deployed and should be over there pretty soon.

In addition, individual units of the Texas National Guard and individual members of the Texas National Guard are mobilized. Yes, we're very aware of how close to home the war is hitting now.

LIN: Yes. Arnold, as far as public opinion is concerned, when, you know, a lot happened in the last six months, I mean, now the death toll since major combat ended is actually higher than when major fighting takes place, so what is public opinion? Is there still support in Austin for the rebuilding of Iraq? Are these lives lost worth the effort? GARCIA: Well, in Austin, we have -- in the Austin area, we have five institutions of higher learning. It's a little more liberal than the rest of the state, so there was always a weariness to outright opposition to the war with pockets of support.

LIN: Has that changed in the last several months?

GARCIA: It's changed, I think, incrementally. We carried a letter to the editor in the last couple of day from a man that identified himself as a Korean War veteran and a Republican expressing a great deal of skepticism about the war and its toll on individuals and the soldiers.

LIN: Jim, are you finding the same?

VESELY: Yes. It's very much as my colleague in Austin describes it. There is an urban America for whom the war will never be justified and probably never will be won. And, outside of that, then there's suburban crescent of voters who are generally Republican, but who often ask themselves, is this the right direction to go? And then another group of Americans who are solidly behind the president and behind the war effort.

We have protests here all the time. And as we heard in this case, just this last Friday, a protest on the campus of the University of Washington, this was part of the Dennis Kucinich campaign that rolled through town. But I'm starting to sense, though, that there are protests, but none that have the power of a funeral. That it's the funerals of the men who are coming home beneath their flags, I think, that is having the larger and more indelible effect than the protests that we hear about and listen to all the time.

LIN: I'm sure you both remember Vietnam. How does this compare to the early days of Vietnam. I mean, in Vietnam, you think about that conflict, it was 15 years and 58,000 lives, is there a growing sense out there that the United States could be involved in another Vietnam, Arnold?

GARCIA: That analogy is used often here. I lived through the Vietnam era. I was drafted in 1969. I do see some parallels, but I see a great deal of difference.

And the difference is that in the Vietnam era, you had the conscription component that we haven't seen yet. And I say, yet, because I saw Senator McCain on one of the Sunday talk shows this morning raising that possibility and you hear that. You're just starting to hear that now and I think that's going to escalate. If that happens...

LIN: Jim, what do you think?

VESELY: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I think Arnold is exactly right. I covered some of the protests during the Vietnam War as a younger reporter. I think now if we talk about national conscription, I don't think that's going to work at all. LIN: But also, the nature of -- you talk about the National Guard being called up increasingly now and taking on combat duties. Do you think that's going to change the nature of public opinions? Because these are regular Joes. This is the guy in the cubicle next door. If the deaths continue to mount, do you think there will be among supporters a sense of patriotism or does it make a difference that the common man is on the front line.

VESELY: I think it does make a difference. Just this last week we had a little going away party for people in the circulation department of the "Seattle Times" who were called up. And there is nothing that brings it home as suddenly to feel the impact of that on individual families.

LIN: Arnold, I'll give you a quick last word.

GARCIA: Okay.

Absolutely. And the use of the increaseing dependence on the reserve and guard components amounts to, as one of the editorial writers said in a meeting yesterday, a back door draft.

LIN: That's interesting. A back door draft. In a sense even though it's a volunteer army, but these guys didn't sign up with the idea of spending their Christmas in the desert, I sure, certainly under these battle conditions. We'll see what happens. Thank you very much, Arnold Garcia and Jim Vesely.

GARCIA: Thank you, Carol.

END

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Handling Of Iraq>