S. troops with car bombs. Saddam is in custody, but no WMD have been found. "The human toll of the war has been high for Americans and Iraqis alike" (Lee, 2005). "More than 1,500 U.S. soldiers have been killed and more than 11,000 have been wounded... [and] it is estimated that as many as 100,000 Iraqi civilians have lost their lives," U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) wrote in the San Jose Mercury-News. How much has this war cost taxpayers so far? The total - including the $80 billion Bush is asking Congress for - is now well above $300 billion; "and while the president has asked Congress to extend his tax breaks for the wealthy, he is insisting on cuts in vital programs for education, housing and health care," Lee asserted.

What do Americans say about the possibility of Bush attacking Iran, and about Bush's handling of the war on Iraq? According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll (released March 16, 2005), "two-thirds oppose military action against Iran" (Langer, 2005). And further, as to the conduct of the war on Iraq, "seven in 10 in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll call the level of U.S. casualties in Iraq unacceptable, and 53%, on balance, say the war was not worth fighting."

The poll is "a huge comedown from public opinion before, during and just after the main fighting two years ago," Langer explains. While Bush's "job approval" rating was 77%, it has slipped to 50%. As to his handling of the war on Iraq, it has nosedived from 75% during the war's early period to 39% today. And the number of people who say the war was "worth fighting" - which was 70% - is now 45%.

Moreover, the number of people who believe the United States is in "a stronger position in the world" as a result of Bush's...

Bush lacks a clear plan for overall handling of the situation, say 57%, and 64% say "the administration lacks a clear plan specifically for eventually withdrawing most U.S. forces from Iraq," according to the poll results published by ABC News.
As to the casualties, 27% believe the number of American men and women who have been killed is "acceptable," but 70% say the casualties are "unacceptable."

In conclusion, notwithstanding the poll's results, Bush will not have to run for reelection, and believes, apparently, that he has a "mandate" to conduct business as he sees fit. But would he launch a war with Iran? "The prologue is uncannily similar," according to an editorial in the New Statesman; "The claims that a member of the 'axis of evil' is developing nuclear weapons and that it supports terrorist movements overseas; the demands for inspections; the growing references among Washington conservative commentators to the desirability of 'regime change.'"