The problem is, when was the last time a politician did what was in the best interests of the public? Our government has gotten WAY out of hand. None of them seem to believe that they are working for us.
I think the main reason that John Q. Public is so against the war, is that they don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. If they could at least see the positive changes and see real progress being made, they might change their minds. Unfortunately the microwave culture we have, has made Americans used to getting what they want, now.
There should have been more concrete goals established before the war was begun. John Doe just sees us as stomping around, shooting things up with no clear objectives.
I can't say I disagree with you for the most part. The fact of the matter is there
is a clear objective for our involvement in the middle east, but what is being presented to us (as John Q. Public) is the liberal media skew that everything over there is a total clusterf**k, so it makes all the sense in the world to stand up and speak out against it. That's exactly the point I was trying to make - not to be conspiratorial or anything, but it is almost as if there are forces within our country destined to do us in from the inside out.
During other, more traditional wars, it was easy to determine the goals and objectives of each stage in the conflict (take the beach at Normandy, for example, as staging for an Allied advancement through France, western Europe and into Germany - take Berlin, eradicate Hitler). These days, part of the problem is that the rules of engagement and warfare have mutated far beyond front line battle tactics. The Coalition Commanders are having to write the rule books as they go along, but there
is an objective - establish sovereignty and equilibrium in Iraq. If we were to cut and run right now, the whole area (and all of its resources) would fall to the hands of those who want every single American in the world dead, and it would surely become a huge staging ground for future attacks on American turf. But, this is not what the public is being told, or what is being portrayed. There is progress, and lots of it - General Petraeus stated this, and was subsequently slammed from all sides, and called a liar. What can you do when our own leaders are throwing the ball to the other side??
Politicians... okay - for the most part (with maybe a few shining examples) I will give you this. I think Washington needs an enema, quite frankly.