US Poll Finds Unease on Terror Fight, War on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 09, 2002

US Poll Finds Unease on Terror Fight, War on Iraq

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Americans increasingly doubt that their government has done enough to protect them against terrorist attacks and are concerned about launching a war on Iraq,according to a latest New York Times/CBS News poll published Sunday.

The poll shows that majorities are convinced, despite misgivings, that there will be a war against Iraq. But they insist that the United States should not launch the war against Iraq without Congressional and allied support first and a clear explanation from President George W. Bush.

One year after the Sept. 11 attacks, about half of the public said the Bush administration did not have a clear plan to fight terrorism, and nearly as many said they feel somewhat uneasy and not safe from another terrorist attack. Only one American in 10 said the administration had made "a lot of progress" in eliminating terrorist threats from nations besides Afghanistan.

One-fourth said Iraq presented such a grave threat that the United States should act now, while two-thirds said the nation needed to wait for support from its allies.

Sixty-two percent said the president "should have to get the approval of Congress before taking military action against Iraq." Among those 65 and older, or old enough to recall World War II, 74percent said Congressional approval was required.

Meanwhile, 46 percent of those interviewed said the Bush administration had not clearly explained its position on Iraq.

The poll shows that Bush's overall approval rating remains strong. Sixty-three percent said they approved of his handling of his job as president. That still represented a drop from 70 percent in mid-July and the mid-80's recorded last fall and winter.

The poll finds the approval rating of Bush's handling of foreign policy stands at 54 percent only, a sharp drop from 68 percent in July.

The poll of 937 adults was conducted by telephone last Monday through Thursday. It's margin of sampling error was plus or minus three percentage points.

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