Home > Americans don’t support war: poll
Fifty-two per cent of Americans believe the Iraq war was not worth fighting in what amounts to a repudiation of President George W Bush’s argument that winning in Iraq is key to prevailing in the war on terrorism, according to a new opinion poll made public.
The joint survey by ABC News and the Washington Post also indicated that seven in 10 Americans found US casualties were "unacceptable", while the number of those confident the war has enhanced long-term US security has slid 11 points this year, to 51 per cent.
The findings follow a report by a bipartisan commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that found that, contrary to the administration’s claim, there were no cooperative ties between the former Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.
President Bush and other administration officials had also insisted Baghdad had a massive arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. But no such weapons have ever been found.
As a result, approval of the president’s handling of the US campaign against terrorism has fallen to 50 per cent, according to the poll.
In an ominous sign for Bush, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry now runs slightly ahead of him in trust to handle terrorism - 48 per cent to 47 per cent, the survey showed.
Bush had a 13-point lead over Kerry on this issue a month ago and a 21-point lead in April.
Evaluating Bush’s overall job performance, 47 per cent of Americans approved it while 51 per cent disapproved.
If the elections were held today, Kerry would have a four-point lead over Bush in the three-way race including independent candidate Ralph Nader, according to the survey.
The poll also found that 76 per cent of Americans now believe the Iraq war has damaged the US image in the rest of the world - 13 points up from last summer.
Another 63 per cent said it has caused long-term harm to US relations with countries that opposed the war.
The survey of 1,201 adults had a margin of error of three percentage points.(AAP)
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/22/1087844910396.html?oneclick=true
Forum posts
4 July 2004, 16:37
YES WE DO!!!! I support our troops and our President in their efforts in Iraq, Afganistan and if need be, into other areas to free the world from tyranny and terrorism.
Our country is call "The Land of the Free" and for good reason. Our constitution allows for freedom of speech among other inalienable rights. It is our freedom of speech that permits "wackos" such as Michael Moore to produce his propaganda "mock-u-mentaries" But Be that his right...it is also other citizens’ rights to vote with our pocketbook and skip his movie. In America, most people realize that we need not believe everything we see and hear.