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Americans think President George W. Bush is going to start a war with Iraq -- and that such action would be justified under certain circumstances. But they're leery of the U.S. acting alone -- or sending American troops to do the job. Those are the key conclusions from our Aug. 14 Reader Survey.
Of the more than 2,600 readers who responded, some 73% think the President will go to war, vs. only 15% who think he won't. Some 55% would favor such a war -- vs. the 35% who wouldn't -- were it proven that Saddam Hussein has been clandestinely making nuclear weapons.
And yet -- based on what they know of the situation at the moment -- some 63% of those who participated wouldn't favor sending large numbers of U.S. troops to Iraq. Likewise, 62% are against the U.S. launching a war if America's allies in Europe and Saudi Arabia refuse to help. And 82% think Bush should get permission from Congress before the U.S. attacks.
One reason for such caution may be that nearly 73% of those who responded think it's either very likely or somewhat likely that a war on Iraq would lead to new terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Here are the details of the survey, which are unscientific since anyone who wished to could participate:
Do you believe that President Bush:
Option
Total
%
Intends to go to war with Iraq so as to replace Saddam Hussein
1873
72.63 %
Is only threatening a war to force Saddam Hussein to once again allow inspectors to monitor his weapons-making capability
389
15.08 %
Don't know
317
12.29 %
Based on what you currently know of the situation, would you favor committing 100,000 to 250,000 U.S. troops to a war against Iraq?
Option
Total
%
Yes
793
30.36 %
No
1653
63.28 %
Don't know
166
6.36 %
Would you favor such a war if it were proven that Saddam has been making nuclear weapons in violation of strictures against doing so?
Option
Total
%
Yes
1439
55.28 %
No
913
35.07 %
Don't know
251
9.64 %
Do you believe that the U.S. should launch a war on Iraq even if America's allies in Europe and Saudi Arabia refuse to help?
Option
Total
%
Yes
809
31.08 %
No
1629
62.58 %
Don't know
165
6.34 %
Should President Bush get permission from Congress before launching a war with Iraq?
Option
Total
%
Yes
2136
81.96 %
No
391
15.00 %
Don't know
79
3.03 %
What are the chances, in your estimation, that a war on Iraq would
lead to new terrorist attacks in the U.S.?
Option
Total
%
Very high
1287
49.25 %
Somewhat high
617
23.61 %
Neither high nor low
392
15.00 %
Somewhat low
142
5.43 %
Very low
113
4.32 %
Don't know
62
2.37 %
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Copyright 2002, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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