THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF THE MADISON TIMES WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

NEWS AT A GLANCE

Compiled By A. David Dahmer

• U.S. military more conservative than public

WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) — About two-thirds of the active-duty U.S. military approve of President George W. Bush's overall performance, while the same percentage of officers consider themselves Republicans, according to a "Military Times Poll" conducted by the publishers of the Army Times and the independent newspapers of the three other major services. The poll also found that most of the active-duty military considers itself morally superior to both U.S. society and its civilian leadership. The survey results, which was based on 933 written responses to a survey sent to 2,500 enlisted personnel and officers, show that the overwhelming majority of those queried believe that U.S. forces are being stretched too thin by Bush's "war on terrorism." Only 56 percent believe the president is handling the Iraq war well.

The poll comes on the heels of "the American soldier" being named Time magazine's "person of the year" and amid a still controversial military occupation in Iraq that, combined with other recent deployments, has raised serious questions about whether Washington needs to expand its 1.4 million-strong active-duty armed forces to keep pace with Bush's military ambitions. The fact that nearly 90 percent of the poll's respondents agreed that "today's military is stretched too thin to be effective" will undoubtedly tilt the debate in favor of those who support a major expansion of at least two army divisions, even if it adds significantly to the already unprecedented $500 billion federal deficit projected for 2004.

Deployments under Bush's "anti-terrorism" war have already made the military the most visible face of the U.S. across Eurasia and the Islamic world. In many areas, U.S. troops train their foreign counterparts, and their own political attitudes might affect the opinions and attitudes of their students.

Traditionally, the U.S. armed forces have prided themselves on being apolitical and fully responsive to civilian authority. After the draft ended in the early 1970s, many analysts expressed concern that the military could become increasingly divorced from the society it was sworn to defend. A number of independent surveys were carried out in the mid to late-1990s to assess racial and political attitudes in the services, but these were mostly in-depth interviews of officers attending war colleges.  Some of those surveys raised new alarms about a growing civilian-military gap, in which military officers were found to be significantly more conservative than their civilian counterparts. Self-described "liberals,” who had historically been well-represented in the army in particular, had all but disappeared from all of the services.

In the 2000 elections, the issue became particularly pertinent, as Republicans fought hard to get all absentee military ballots counted in Florida, on the untested assumption that active-duty personnel had voted overwhelmingly for Bush. Indeed, the absentee military vote probably provided the winning margin for the president. The Army Times survey, which was conducted before the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, tends to sustain that view, although the gap between the military and the public appears to be somewhat narrower than earlier studies had suggested.

While recent polls show that roughly one-third of the public considers itself Republican, 57 percent of the active-duty military identified themselves with that party. Compared to 32 percent of the civilian public who described themselves as Democrats, only 9 percent of military officers and 16 percent of enlisted personnel did so. Twenty-nine percent of the military respondents either said they were independent or declined to answer the question.

Two-thirds of military respondents said they approved of Bush’s overall performance as president; only 13 percent disapproved. By contrast, 55 percent of civilians indicated approval and 43 percent disapproval, according to an August poll by Gallup. In this case, too, a higher percentage of officers (73 percent) approved of Bush as compared to enlisted personnel (64 percent).

But on Iraq, the military's attitude was much closer to civilians'. Some 64 percent of soldiers said the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, compared to 59 percent of civilians who agreed with that in a recent Gallup poll. Moreover, only 56 percent of the military said they approved of Bush's handling of the war, compared to 50 percent of the general public.

Hodierne stressed that the survey did not include members of the reserves or the National Guard, who make up almost 30 percent of the soldiers currently deployed to Iraq or its neighboring states. Members of these two services, whose numbers total about 1.4 million, have tended to be far more critical of the Iraq deployment than the full-time military.

Hodierne said that the sample was not a perfect cross-section, even of active-duty personnel. "Our sample tends to be older, higher-ranking, and longer in service," he said, noting these variables might also contribute to a somewhat more Republican and conservative result. — Jim Lobe

• Top gospel artists to perform during Super Bowl XXXVIII weekend celebration

HOUSTON —The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, which kicks off Super Bowl XXXVIII weekend on Friday, Jan. 30, at the Reliant Arena in Houston, will bring an evening of inspirational music, soul-stirring testimonies from NFL players, and a chance to win a pair of tickets to the "Big Game."

This year's event will feature award-winning, singing sensation Patti LaBelle who will share the stage with gospel artists Donnie McClurkin, John P. Kee, Mary Mary and Dorinda Clark-Cole. Houston's own, Yolanda Adams will host the event.

In its sixth year, the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration evolved from Christian NFL players wanting an inspirational, family-oriented event during Super Bowl Weekend. Each year, the gospel concert features the industries top artists joined by several current and former Christian NFL players. In the past, NFL greats Cris Carter, Curtis Martin, Kurt Warner, Michael Barrow, Troy Vincent, Qadry Ismail, Aneas Williams, Deion Sanders and more have given their time to the event.Players share their testimonies and inspirational messages with the audience. —2004 Super Bowl Gospel Celebration

END OF NATIONAL NEWS