Polls Show U.S. Doubts over Iraq War

By Reuters | New York Times

Saturday, 30 August, 2002

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/09.01C.poll.iraq.htm

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Two polls released on Friday showed Americans wary of a potential war with Iraq but the White House insisted President Bush was keeping ``his options open'' and would involve the Congress, allies and the public in any decision.

A poll for Time Magazine and CNN released on Friday found that 51 percent of those surveyed supported a U.S. ground invasion of Iraq, while 40 per cent opposed it. In December a similar poll found 70 percent in favor and 22 percent against.

A Newsweek poll showed 62 percent would support military force against Iraq but fewer than half, 49 percent, would support sending large numbers of ground troops into Iraq.

With transatlantic tensions rising over the issue, the Newsweek poll showed a large majority believed it was important for the United States to build support among European allies and in the United Nations before taking action.

In addition, 51 percent said Washington should win the support of Arab countries friendly to the United States.

Both polls also showed large majorities believing Bush should seek congressional approval. The two polls, each of just over 1,000 people, were conducted on Aug. 28 and 29.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that despite the doubts evidenced by the polls, most Americans continued to regard the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a threat ``to the region, the United States and the world.''

Bush is committed to ousting Saddam, but McClellan said he had made no decision on the use of military force.

``The president is keeping his options open about how we achieve our stated policy of regime change. And as we move forward he will continue to talk to the American people, as well as Congress and our friends and allies,'' McClellan told Reuters. ``These people will be involved,'' he said.

HAGEL WARNS AGAINST 'SCARING' PEOPLE

A Republican senator said he did not believe Saddam had nuclear weapons and warned U.S. officials against ``scaring'' the American public with predictions that he is about to get them.

``My bottom line is that I don't think he does possess nuclear capability,'' Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said of the Iraqi president on CNN. ``Is he attempting to do that? You have to assume he is.

``But to scare the American public by saying this guy is a couple of months away from not only possessing nuclear weapons but a ballistic missile to deliver those, that's dangerous stuff here,'' Hagel told CNN's ``Novak, Hunt & Shields.''

Vice President Dick Cheney this week argued that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction which pose a ``mortal threat'' to the United States.

Cheney said America should not wait until the moment when Saddam ``crosses the threshold of actually possessing nuclear weapons'' to take action against him.

Hagel, who has warned previously against a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, said he thought Bush would lay out his case for invading Iraq in mid-September, when the president is expected to speak to the United Nations General Assembly.

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he thought Bush could expect more support from its friends and allies once he made a case against the Iraqi leader.

``Once we make a public case, on the question of the regime in Iraq, then we can expect a fair amount of support,'' Armitage told PBS television's ``The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.''

PLAYING DOWN BRITISH SUGGESTION

Earlier, McClellan played down a British suggestion of a deadline for Iraqi compliance with U.N. arms inspections, saying Iraq must meet its obligations ``now'' and that there was no need for talks.

Britain said on Thursday it would consider pressing for a deadline by which Iraq must comply with U.N. resolutions mandating inspections of Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs to ensure its disarmament.

Top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, this week have said the United States did not consider international ``unanimity'' a prerequisite for action against Iraq.

A senior State Department official said Secretary of State Colin Powell, seen as a leading administration dove on Iraq, favors a cautious approach taking into account the level of international support.

But another U.S. official said Powell, a retired Army general, was staying out of the fray until the Bush administration decides what it wants to do.

Powell, who was also cautious about using U.S. forces to oust Saddam's forces from Kuwait before the 1991 Gulf War, has been quiet on the issue for almost three weeks, while Cheney and Rumsfeld have led a hawkish charge.

McClellan, asked about Powell's position on Friday, said the administration was united on a need for ``regime change'' in Iraq. ``We are singing from the same song book,'' he told reporters.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who are interested in the information for research and educational purposes.)

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