John Podhoretz points out that the soldiers serving in the US military are more committed and motivated than ever, as Democrat leaders and mainstream media work ceaselessly to undercut support for the war at home: A New Divide.

December 28, 2004 — IT will surely be difficult for many people of good will to reconcile the awfulness of the daily news coming out of Iraq — deaths of and injuries to American soldiers and committed Iraqis who want nothing more than to bring freedom and democracy to a forlorn and battered country — with the astonishing new poll released by the Military Times yesterday.

That poll of 1,423 active members of the military indicates that the armed forces of the United States are passionate supporters of the Coalition’s efforts in Iraq.

Support for the war inside the military stands at 60 percent, 25 percent higher than the latest Gallup measurement of the American people as a whole.

When it comes to President Bush’s handling of the war effort, the results are even more lopsided. Only 42 percent of Americans approve, according to ABC News. In the military, Bush garners 63 percent support.

In other words, support for Bush’s Iraq policy is an astounding half again as big in the active military as in the American body politic.

And, in the words of the Army Times report on the poll, “Support for the war is even greater among those who have served longest in the combat zone: Two-thirds of combat vets say the war is worth fighting.”

It seems that the people who are actually putting their lives on the line believe in what they are doing — and that those who have spent the most time in harm’s way are the most passionate of all.