Over 70 percent of troops say it's time to withdraw from Iraq, according to a recent Zogby poll extensively covered in the mainstream media.

Economist and Air Force veteran Tim Kane takes a closer look at the poll and finds major problems. Zogby's poll, he writes, was "like a multiple-choice test with no right answers." For example, troops could choose that they believed the U.S. should stay in Iraq "indefinitely" or "withdraw" at several different dates. What about troops who think the U.S. should stay for one year, five years, or however long? Sorry, that's not one of the choices.

According to Kane, the poll included "questions aplenty on napalm, interrogation, and doubling the number of bombing missions." How many questions did Zogby ask about the state of the U.S. mission, morale, progress in tracking down terrorists, and prospects for democracy and economic growth? None.

So is the Zogby poll "(a) biased, (b) dishonest, or (c) all of the above?" Don't like those choices? Sorry, that's all they gave us.

---

Read Poll Too Biased To Show Troops' Views by Tim Kane, Ph.D.

The sale of a British-based company that controls cargo handling operations at a number of U.S. port facilities to Dubai Ports World, a government-owned company in the United Arab Emirates, has raised many concerns. While the deal has since been modified—Dubai Ports World has agreed to transfer all of its U.S. operations to a domestic firm—a review of the facts suggests that there were no apparent security issues. Still, concerns over the deal reflect the importance of ensuring that the U.S. government is looking after Americans’ safety and security. Congress should take this opportunity to amend current laws to strengthen oversight of foreign-owned critical maritime infrastructure.