Bush and Obama, Wars and Economy: Power and People in an Age of Limits and Loss 563nearby], or political assassinations as their main tactics. It did not take long for
people in both Iraq and the U.S. to turn against American role in the war. In
Iraq, large majorities approved of the attacks on the U.S. troops, while by
2004, disappointed that the war was still raging, public opinion polls here
began to show the country split over the fighting. More tragically, the Iraqis
were suffering huge losses [most likely well over 100,000 in just the first few
years from the invasion and insurgency] and over 4000 American soldiers were
killed. In 2007, the U.S. sent more troops into Iraq, the so-called surge, and
the fighting seemed to subside. American leaders claimed success and Bush
and then Obama both began preparing for a full American withdrawal.
The War at Home
The events of September 2001 and the war in Iraq had great consequences
inside the U.S. too. Just nine days after al Qaeda’s attack on the U.S., Bush
went before a joint session of Congress and an national television audience in
an attempt to explain what had happened and why. Doing his best to rekindle
FIGuRE 11-3 Artists protesting at Times Square after the
September 11th attacks