GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ --
Key Summary Points
- The vast majority of Americans support military action against the groups or nations responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
- Support for retaliatory military action has remained at about 90% throughout the month of September.
- There have been demonstrations in Washington and elsewhere protesting military retaliation. But polling data suggest that, if anything, Americans are more concerned that military retaliation is taking too long, rather than that it will be too harsh or quick. Most Americans, however, say the Bush administration's current timetable for a military response is about right.
- A Gallup poll shows that more than eight in 10 favor military action against Afghanistan, and about three-quarters favor military action against Iraq.
- Asked about various objectives for military action in Afghanistan, Americans are most supportive of sending in commandos or special forces to capture Osama bin Laden, followed by bombing attacks and then sending in large numbers of ground troops. But a clear majority of six in 10 support even this latter alternative, according to a Sept. 27-28 Newsweek poll.
- The public claims to be willing to continue to support military action against terrorists even if it produces both military and civilian casualties, and even if it leads to a prolonged war.
- Several polls show that there is strong support for conducting military action against the countries harboring the terrorists, as well as against the terrorists themselves.
- Relatively few Americans are very or extremely confident that every global terrorist organization will ultimately be defeated.
- Polling conducted by Pew shows that large majorities of Americans support military retaliation both because it will punish those responsible, and because it is needed in order to prevent future attacks.
- Gallup studies have shown for years that the public has more confidence in the military than in any other major societal institution in the United States. A recent UBS/PaineWebber/Gallup poll of investors suggested that one additional effect of the terrorist attacks has been significantly more support for an increased defense budget.
Details
The vast majority of Americans support military action against the groups or nations responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Support levels, in fact, are generally at or around an extraordinary 90% level. The most recent Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll, conducted Sept. 21-22, shows that 89% of Americans say they think the United States should take military action in retaliation for the Sept. 11 attacks. This is very little changed from the results of previous Gallup polls conducted since the night of the attacks. Other polls conducted in recent days have also found these extraordinarily high levels of support for a military response.
There has been an apparent willingness on the part of Americans to wait until the perpetrators are identified, rather than rushing in with immediate strikes. A Gallup poll conducted the weekend after the attacks asked respondents first about military action in general (88% were in favor). The poll then asked those who favored military action if they felt the United States should act immediately against all known terrorist organizations, even if it was unclear who orchestrated the attacks, or if the United States should take a more restrained approach of waiting for those responsible to be identified -- even if it takes months -- before conducting military strikes against them. The results show that only 23% of Americans opt for conducting immediate military strikes. Sixty-two percent favor military strikes, but only when those responsible are identified. Another 10% say they don't favor military actions at all, with the rest undecided.
The same tendency for Americans to be willing to wait to act was found in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which offered respondents a list of five possible alternative actions. Support was lowest, although still in the majority, for an option described as "Launch immediate air strikes against the strongholds of terrorists who are believed to be the most likely responsible for these attacks."
As the month of September came closer to an end, the data suggested that a small group of Americans felt that military action was not moving quickly enough. The Sept. 21-22 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that about one out of five Americans thought President Bush had not "gone far enough" in terms of a military response. Fourteen percent of those interviewed in the same poll, however, thought that Bush had not gone far enough in terms of an economic or diplomatic response. A recent Newsweek poll -- September 27-28 -- found that 18% said military action should already have started.
One of the most striking findings from the review of public opinion polling conducted since the attacks is the strong majority support for military action against those responsible for the terrorism, even when Americans are explicitly advised of the various possible consequences of such action.Several polls made it clear that military action could result in the beginning of a more protracted war, and support levels remained at the two-thirds level or higher. In the Sept. 14-15 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 86% supported military action if it lasted a period of several months, and a still-high 66% said that they would support U.S. military action even if it continued for a period of several years. An ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 69% of Americans support going to war even if it means "getting into a long war with large numbers of U.S. troops killed or injured." The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 83% support "even if it means risking further retaliation and the threat of war." In fact, the same NBC/WSJ poll showed that more Americans were worried about the United States under-reacting and not doing enough in response to the attacks than were worried about the United States over-reacting and doing too much.
The Sept. 21-22 Gallup poll introduced the idea of a war that might cost the lives of 5,000 U.S. troops and 5,000 U.S. civilians. In each instance, about eight out of 10 respondents continued to say they would support the U.S. campaign against terrorism even with these consequences. Similarly, a CBS/New York Times poll found that about seven out of 10 supported taking military action even if it means the deaths of thousands of military personnel and civilians.
The Sept. 14-15 Gallup poll shows that Americans know such military action may result in increased terrorist attacks, but still favor it as the best alternative. Two questions were asked, each to a different half of the sample. One half was asked what would happen if the United States did institute military responses, and the other was asked what would happen if the United States did not. Forty-three percent of Americans said that terrorist attacks might actually increase as a result of the U.S. military response, but an overwhelming 89% said that chances of terrorist attacks would increase if the United States didnottake military action against the terrorists.
Several polls show that there is strong support for conducting military action against the countries harboring the terrorists, as well as against the terrorists themselves. The Sept. 21-22 Gallup poll found that 82% supported direct military action against Afghanistan. Two-thirds of those interviewed in a CBS News/New York Times poll said they supported going to war against a nation harboring those responsible for the attacks. An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that 85% support U.S. military attacks on Afghanistan if that country does not turn Osama bin Laden over to the United States.
More generally, it is clear that the American public has responded to the focus on Osama bin Laden. In the Sept. 14-15 Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll, 83% say he deserves a great deal of blame for the terrorist attacks, although 64% say Afghanistan deserves a great deal of blame, and 53% say fundamentalist Muslim leaders deserve a great deal of blame for the attacks. Gallup's Sept. 21-22 poll shows that 85% say it is very important to capture or kill bin Laden.
A Los Angeles Times poll shows that seven out of 10 Americans say they would prefer to see military action taken against bin Laden and his group rather than see him brought to the United States in order to stand trial.
Despite support for military action, there is some skepticism on the part of the American public that global terrorism can be eradicated.Only 21% of those interviewed by Gallup on Sept. 21-22 were either very or extremely confident that "every global terrorist organization will be defeated," the wording used by President Bush. A Pew poll conducted at about the same time found that 39% were very confident that the United States will be able to complete its mission "to destroy terrorist networks around the world."
