not surprisingly, troops want out of Iraq

Even After Listening To ‘Rousing’ Cheney Speech, Troops Back Pro-Withdrawal Candidates

Last month, Vice President Dick Cheney visited Iraq, where he vowed the U.S. would keep “a long-term military presence in Iraq until al-Qaida is defeated” there. The same day, a bomb killed two American soldiers outside of Bagdad, and a suicide bomber killed 43 Iraqis in Karbala.

Just after his visit, ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz spoke with soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan about their political preferences, and found that most of the soldiers she spoke to favored candidates who supported withdrawal from Iraq:

Only moments before speaking with ABC News, the troops had been listening to Vice President Dick Cheney give a rousing speech, but it didn’t change their political preference. […]

Though the military is generally a more conservative group, soldiers like Sgt. Justin Sarbaum are just as eager for a pull-out as the Democratic candidates. Sarbaum said he wondered which presidential candidate would be able to better the U.S. relationship with rogue nations, such as Iran, so that soldiers are not sent off to another war.

One soldier, Spc. Imus Loto, explained he supported the presidential candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) because of his plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq:

REPORTER: But he [Obama] wants to pull out of Iraq.

LOTO: Pull me out too.

In 2006, 72 percent of U.S. soldiers favored withdrawal within one year. Apparently, all Cheney has to say to them now is, “So?“

UpdatePrivate First Class Jeremy Slate had a "so" of his own to offer:

RADDATZ: He wants to pull out of Iraq right away.

SLATE: Yes, so?

RADDATZ: You do, too?

SLATE: Well, that would be nice. I'd like to be home.Yes.

(Think Progress)