|
Profile: Public Opinion Polls Show Wavering Support for U.S. War Against Iraq
Morning Edition: March 4, 2003
More Americans Support Iraq Inspections, Polls Show
BOB EDWARDS, host:
As the Bush administration struggles to win United Nations support for war against Iraq, public opinion polls show more Americans want to wait for that UN support. Polls also show most Americans are willing to give weapons inspectors more time before forcing a confrontation. That may not change the Bush administration's plans for war, but it does suggest there are political risks if the war and its aftermath turn out to be longer and more difficult than expected. NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson reports.
MARA LIASSON reporting:
Support for President Bush's policy of using military force to get rid of Saddam Hussein is still strong. In the latest CNN-Gallup poll, 59 percent supported sending US troops to Iraq. In the latest CBS poll, 66 percent approved. But ask the question, `Should the US take military action fairly soon, or should it wait to give the UN inspectors more time,' and you get a more complicated answer. In the CBS poll, 62 percent say give the inspectors more time. In the CNN poll, 40 percent approve of going to war without UN approval, but that number jumps to 80 percent with another UN resolution. Keating Holland, the polling director at CNN, cautions that these polls are not necessarily a predictor of public opposition if the US proceeds without UN approval, as appears more and more likely.
Mr. KEATING HOLLAND (CNN Polling Director): About six in 10 Americans say that they are willing to send US ground troops to Iraq to get rid of Saddam Hussein, so it's sort of a `yes, but.' You know, yes, it's an important thing to do, yes, we're willing to do it, but there are certain conditions that they want to see met. Again I have to bring up the rally effect where all of those conditions could be tossed into the trash can once the president of the United States makes a foreign policy decision which the American public recognizes is his to make.
LIASSON: Once US troops are in harm's way, Americans traditionally close ranks. But the president's approval rating for his handling of Iraq is also softening. At a steady 61 percent in three previous Washington Post-ABC polls, it's now declined to 55 percent. Peter Feaver, a political scientist at Duke University and the co-author of a new book on public opinion and war, says the president could be paying a price for his recent string of diplomatic failures.
Mr. PETER FEAVER (Duke University): The president's had a couple tough weeks in the international arena with reversals from the French, from the Germans, most recently from the Turks. Those are indications that the administration's foreign policy is facing a stiff head wind.
LIASSON: And Feaver says public opinion in advance of this war against Iraq differs from the first Persian Gulf War. This time support appears to be wavering as the White House gets to the crunch point, Feaver says. In 1991, support grew along with the military buildup. According to Feaver, that shows how successful the French and others have been in throwing road blocks in the president's way, and it's a bigger problem for this President Bush than the last-minute efforts of the Russians and French were for his father in 1991.
Then there's the sense that opposition to a war without UN approval is becoming more widespread. At its winter meeting in Florida last weekend, the AFL-CIO unanimously passed a resolution criticizing the president's approach to Iraq. Although it supported efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein, the resolution went on to say that the administration had squandered international goodwill since the September 11th attacks and had, quote, "managed to insult many of our strong allies and divide the world at a time when it should speak as one." Bill Lucy is the vice chair of the labor federation's International Affairs Committee.
Mr. BILL LUCY (Vice Chairman, International Affairs Committee): This issue of you're either with us or you're against us is not the most diplomatic approach to forming a broad-based coalition. It's sort of assumed that no other nation need have foreign policy or foreign relations except ourselves. In the Gulf War, Desert Storm, I think there was a good deal of effort on the diplomatic front designed to bring along coalition allies.
LIASSON: The resolution was a departure from tradition for the AFL. Throughout the Cold War, organized labor backed the White House on foreign policy and continued its support during the first Persian Gulf War. In the view of labor leaders today, President Bush has not approached the world the way the president said he would when he was a candidate in October of 2000.
Governor GEORGE W. BUSH (Republican, Texas): It really depends upon how our nation conducts itself in foreign policy. If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation but strong, they'll welcome us.
LIASSON: Labor is at odds with the Bush administration on many issues, and there was plenty of anti-Bush sentiment behind the AFL's Iraq resolution, but it was another example of how this President Bush, with the stability of the Cold War long gone, is having trouble achieving a consensus abroad or at home. Mara Liasson, NPR News, Washington.
EDWARDS: The time is 19 minutes past the hour.
Copyright ©2003 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.
This transcript was created by a contractor for NPR, and NPR has not verified its accuracy. For all NPR programs, the broadcast audio should be considered the authoritative
version.
|
