Poll backs force against Iran over nukes

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This poll, allowing for the fakery and unrepresentativeness of genuine
mass opinion, reflects (1) the easy initial US victory in Iraq and the
sense that Washington can handle the current resistance by becoming
more aggressive rather than withdrawing, and (2) the rulers' success
in portraying Iran as an even more Evil society than Iraq under Saddam
(the 25 years of intense propaganda include Washington's support of
Iraq in the war against Iran from start to finish).
Fred Feldman

POLL: MAJORITY BACKS USE OF FORCE IN IRAN
By Richard Morin & Claudia Deane

Washington Post
June 24, 2003

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23974-2003Jun23.html?na
v=hptop_ts

Most Americans would support the United States taking
military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons
despite growing public concern about the mounting number of
U.S. military casualties in the aftermath of the war with
Iraq, according to a new Washington
Post-ABC News poll.

President Bush last week said the rest of the world should
join the United States in declaring that it "will not
tolerate" nuclear weapons in Iran -- a vow that most
Americans appear willing to back with force. By 56 percent
to 38 percent, the public endorsed the use of the military
to block Iran from developing nuclear arms.

Support for a military solution in Iran came despite rising
concern about the growing number of casualties among U.S.
military personnel in neighboring Iraq. About half said the
current level of U.S. dead and wounded is  "acceptable" --
down from two-thirds in early
April.

The survey also found that support for the war with Iraq as
well as for the way Bush is handling the situation in that
country remains strong, but may be slowly ebbing.

Two in three -- 67 percent -- of those interviewed said they
approve of the way Bush is  dealing with Iraq. That's still
a strong majority but down from 75 percent in late April, at
the end of the conflict. Nearly as many -- 64 percent --
said the benefits of the war outweighed its cost, a drop
from 70 percent in the late April survey.

Seven in 10 said they were concerned that the United States
would become involved in a long and costly peacekeeping
mission in Iraq, a figure unchanged in recent months.

The survey also suggests that the fog of war extended far
beyond the Iraq battlefield. About one in four Americans
incorrectly believes Iraq used chemical or biological
weapons against U.S. forces during the conflict. Slightly
more than six in 10 said Iraq had not, while the remainder
weren't sure.

The national survey of 1,024 randomly selected adults
conducted June 18-22 found that Bush's overall job approval
rating remains strong.  Nearly seven in 10 -- 68 percent --
approved of the job Bush was doing as president, down
negligibly from April.

More than six in 10 said the decision to go to war was
justified even if the United States does not find weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq. One in four said the conflict
could be justified only if the U.S. locates chemical or
biological weapons, or uncovers evidence that Iraq was
actively trying to build or acquire nuclear arms.

Before the war, the Bush administration cited evidence that
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction as the primary
justification for using military force to topple President
Saddam Hussein.

As the war ended and weeks passed without the discovery of
such weapons, some Democrats  questioned whether Bush or
members of his inner circle deliberately exaggerated the
threat to justify going to war -- an argument that the
latest Post-ABC poll suggests has had negligible effect on
the president's public standing.

Concerns over mounting U.S. military casualties have soared
largely among Democrats and independents, the survey found.
In April, 56 percent of all Democrats believed U.S. troop
losses had been acceptable; today 35 percent share that
view. The proportion of those who  viewed current casualty
levels as acceptable dropped by 23 percentage points among
political independents, to 43 percent. There was no change
among Republicans.

Concern among women also has increased, with the proportion
calling the casualties unacceptable increasing from 33
percent to 50 percent in the past seven weeks.

[end]
--

Another good site for polls:
http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/pollkatzcontentpage.html




--
Mark K. Jensen
Associate Professor of French
Chair, Dept. of Languages and Literatures
Pacific Lutheran University
http://www.plu.edu/~jensenmk/
253-535-7219