71% of Americans Support War, Poll Shows
But Overseas, Attitudes About Invading Iraq Continue to Be Overwhelmingly Negative
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Americans have rallied strongly behind President Bush and his policy of disarming Iraq by force, while most Europeans remain sharply critical of Bush and his foreign policy, according to surveys released yesterday.
Overwhelming majorities of Americans have accepted their president's call for war with Iraq as the only practical way to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and end the threat posed by his weapons of mass destruction, according to a poll conducted Monday night by The Washington Post and ABC News.
Support for going to war with Iraq surged to 71 percent after Bush's nationally televised speech, up from 59 percent a week ago, according to the poll. Nearly two in three -- 64 percent -- approve of the way Bush is handling the confrontation with Iraq, an increase of 9 percentage points in the past eight days.
Across the Atlantic, attitudes continue to be broadly negative toward Bush and his policies toward Iraq, even in several nations that Bush counts among his "coalition of the willing." In France and Germany, countries that oppose the war but would be counted on by the United States to help rebuild Iraq, more than two in three reject a U.S.-led attack, according to surveys conducted last week by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
"Looming war with Iraq has taken a further toll on the image of America -- not only in countries highly critical of our Iraq policy, such as France and Germany, but also in coalition countries such as Britain, Poland, Italy and Spain," wrote Andrew Kohut, the center's director.
Even in Britain, only 39 percent of citizens favor going to war , down from 47 percent in November, though other surveys suggest that support may have rebounded in recent weeks. In Spain, which joined with Britain and the United States in a recent unsuccessful effort to win U.N. Security Council support for war, eight in 10 oppose military action against Iraq.
Still, some experts say that these differences, which can be expected to widen even further once the war begins, could largely heal if the war is quick, relatively bloodless and does not spread beyond Iraq.
"Once the war is over, I think both sides will wake up and realize, whether they like it or not, it's in our common interest to work together, and people will want to do that," said Philip H. Gordon, head of the Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and France, citing past international experiences in the Balkans. Before that military intervention, he said, "the U.S. and Europe were deeply divided. Once we finally got up the will to go in militarily and moved on to the reconstruction phase, cooperation was excellent because we all had a common interest."
Partial support for that view came from the Pew survey, which found that residents in most countries surveyed thought that "in the long run the Iraqi people will be better off, and the region more stable, if Iraq is disarmed and Hussein is removed from power by the U.S. and its allies," Kohut wrote. "Only the Russians and the Turks, who see this as a war by the U.S. against an unfriendly Muslim country, disagree."
Souring European views of Bush and U.S. policies contrast strongly with the surge in backing for the president and his war policies that followed Bush's speech to the nation Monday. Seven in 10 said they supported Bush's televised call to go to war without the blessing of the United Nations unless Hussein and his sons leave Iraq within 48 hours, according to the Post-ABC poll. An equally large majority believes that Bush has done enough to win support from other nations. More than two in three said his policies on Iraq are the right ones, although less than half are strongly convinced.
The poll suggests that the increased support for war is largely because more Democrats have come around to the president's view. About six in 10 Democrats said they support an attack on Iraq, compared with about four in 10 in an early March poll. At the same time, however, nearly half said they disapproved of the way Bush has handled the conflict with Iraq.
The public's preference for a U.N.-endorsed war also has faded following the collapse of efforts by the United States and its allies to win support for a second war resolution in the Security Council. Three in four in the Post-ABC poll disapproved of the way the United Nations has handled the crisis, up from slightly more than half three weeks ago.
But the anger shown in these poll numbers does not reflect a desire to withdraw from the international community or to punish France for derailing a second U.N. resolution backing war. Only a third said they believe that the United States should withhold support and be less cooperative with the French government, and even fewer (one in five) say the United States should change its relationship with the United Nations.
The Pew survey, which included a separate poll in the United States, also found broad international support for the United Nations. "There is more consensus on both sides of the Atlantic about the U.N. It is still important, say majorities or pluralities in most countries polled," Kohut found.
The Post and ABC interviewed 510 randomly selected adults after Bush's speech. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. The practical difficulties of doing a survey in a single night represent other potential sources of error in this poll. Approximately 5,500 adults were interviewed for the Pew project, including 500 each in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia and Turkey, and about 1,000 each in Britain and the United States.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company washingtonpost.com 71% of Americans Support War, Poll Shows
But Overseas, Attitudes About Invading Iraq Continue to Be Overwhelmingly Negative
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Americans have rallied strongly behind President Bush and his policy of disarming Iraq by force, while most Europeans remain sharply critical of Bush and his foreign policy, according to surveys released yesterday.
Overwhelming majorities of Americans have accepted their president's call for war with Iraq as the only practical way to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and end the threat posed by his weapons of mass destruction, according to a poll conducted Monday night by The Washington Post and ABC News.
Support for going to war with Iraq surged to 71 percent after Bush's nationally televised speech, up from 59 percent a week ago, according to the poll. Nearly two in three -- 64 percent -- approve of the way Bush is handling the confrontation with Iraq, an increase of 9 percentage points in the past eight days.
Across the Atlantic, attitudes continue to be broadly negative toward Bush and his policies toward Iraq, even in several nations that Bush counts among his "coalition of the willing." In France and Germany, countries that oppose the war but would be counted on by the United States to help rebuild Iraq, more than two in three reject a U.S.-led attack, according to surveys conducted last week by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
"Looming war with Iraq has taken a further toll on the image of America -- not only in countries highly critical of our Iraq policy, such as France and Germany, but also in coalition countries such as Britain, Poland, Italy and Spain," wrote Andrew Kohut, the center's director.
Even in Britain, only 39 percent of citizens favor going to war , down from 47 percent in November, though other surveys suggest that support may have rebounded in recent weeks. In Spain, which joined with Britain and the United States in a recent unsuccessful effort to win U.N. Security Council support for war, eight in 10 oppose military action against Iraq.
Still, some experts say that these differences, which can be expected to widen even further once the war begins, could largely heal if the war is quick, relatively bloodless and does not spread beyond Iraq.
"Once the war is over, I think both sides will wake up and realize, whether they like it or not, it's in our common interest to work together, and people will want to do that," said Philip H. Gordon, head of the Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and France, citing past international experiences in the Balkans. Before that military intervention, he said, "the U.S. and Europe were deeply divided. Once we finally got up the will to go in militarily and moved on to the reconstruction phase, cooperation was excellent because we all had a common interest."
Partial support for that view came from the Pew survey, which found that residents in most countries surveyed thought that "in the long run the Iraqi people will be better off, and the region more stable, if Iraq is disarmed and Hussein is removed from power by the U.S. and its allies," Kohut wrote. "Only the Russians and the Turks, who see this as a war by the U.S. against an unfriendly Muslim country, disagree."
Souring European views of Bush and U.S. policies contrast strongly with the surge in backing for the president and his war policies that followed Bush's speech to the nation Monday. Seven in 10 said they supported Bush's televised call to go to war without the blessing of the United Nations unless Hussein and his sons leave Iraq within 48 hours, according to the Post-ABC poll. An equally large majority believes that Bush has done enough to win support from other nations. More than two in three said his policies on Iraq are the right ones, although less than half are strongly convinced.
The poll suggests that the increased support for war is largely because more Democrats have come around to the president's view. About six in 10 Democrats said they support an attack on Iraq, compared with about four in 10 in an early March poll. At the same time, however, nearly half said they disapproved of the way Bush has handled the conflict with Iraq.
The public's preference for a U.N.-endorsed war also has faded following the collapse of efforts by the United States and its allies to win support for a second war resolution in the Security Council. Three in four in the Post-ABC poll disapproved of the way the United Nations has handled the crisis, up from slightly more than half three weeks ago.
But the anger shown in these poll numbers does not reflect a desire to withdraw from the international community or to punish France for derailing a second U.N. resolution backing war. Only a third said they believe that the United States should withhold support and be less cooperative with the French government, and even fewer (one in five) say the United States should change its relationship with the United Nations.
The Pew survey, which included a separate poll in the United States, also found broad international support for the United Nations. "There is more consensus on both sides of the Atlantic about the U.N. It is still important, say majorities or pluralities in most countries polled," Kohut found.
The Post and ABC interviewed 510 randomly selected adults after Bush's speech. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. The practical difficulties of doing a survey in a single night represent other potential sources of error in this poll. Approximately 5,500 adults were interviewed for the Pew project, including 500 each in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia and Turkey, and about 1,000 each in Britain and the United States.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company washingtonpost.com 71% of Americans Support War, Poll Shows
Other than WWII, since when has the world supported any U.S. military action? Russia has already made noises of conciliation, France is starting to fawn like a lapdog and China doesn't care (heard anything strong and unequivocal lately? no?). The Middle East countries have no intention of helping Saddam or bothering the U.S. Over 40 countries now support our efforts. So what's the problem?
Not aimed at you, you didn't say anything one way or the other, but this is for the people who misunderstand how world politics actually work.
Not aimed at you, you didn't say anything one way or the other, but this is for the people who misunderstand how world politics actually work.
"But the countries that hold weight do NOT approve. "
so...great britain, the US, and Japan don't hold any weight.... if i am not mistaken those just happen to be the 3 biggest economic countries....
yup- 45 countries....The population of Coalition countries is approximately 1.17 billion people.
Coalition countries have a combined GDP of approximately $21.8 trillion.
Every major race, religion, ethnicity in the world is represented.
The Coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe
so...great britain, the US, and Japan don't hold any weight.... if i am not mistaken those just happen to be the 3 biggest economic countries....
yup- 45 countries....The population of Coalition countries is approximately 1.17 billion people.
Coalition countries have a combined GDP of approximately $21.8 trillion.
Every major race, religion, ethnicity in the world is represented.
The Coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe
If you're going to paraphrase, at least give due credit.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/20/sprj.irq.bush/index.html
"White House touts international support for military campaign"
By Sean Loughlin
CNN Washington Bureau
... blah, blah, blah ...
...
"Every major race, religion and ethnic group in the world is represented," Fleischer said, adding that the coalition represents about 1.18 billion people from countries with a combined gross domestic product of $21.7 trillion. "The coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe. And for this, the president is grateful."
...
... blah, blah, blah ...
THE END.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/20/sprj.irq.bush/index.html
"White House touts international support for military campaign"
By Sean Loughlin
CNN Washington Bureau
... blah, blah, blah ...
...
"Every major race, religion and ethnic group in the world is represented," Fleischer said, adding that the coalition represents about 1.18 billion people from countries with a combined gross domestic product of $21.7 trillion. "The coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe. And for this, the president is grateful."
...
... blah, blah, blah ...
THE END.
Radio: tell me something that is radically different than the way the world has always operated politically.
You can't. The bottom line is you don't like the US using its power in the world to decide what's best for it, and having other countries' governments agree with us for whatever reason.
TOUGH SHIT - deal with it.
You can't. The bottom line is you don't like the US using its power in the world to decide what's best for it, and having other countries' governments agree with us for whatever reason.
TOUGH SHIT - deal with it.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Jazz wrote "Over 40 countries now support our efforts. So what's the problem?" There is 193 countries in the world for one. Also the majority of the people in many of those countries don't agree even if their government were coerced by the U.S. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dont listen to Jazz. This guy thinks he is TOUGH SHIT!
----------------------------------------
MY BIGGEST LIES:
1- I love you!
2- The check is in the mail!
3- I wont cum in your mouth!
Dont listen to Jazz. This guy thinks he is TOUGH SHIT!
----------------------------------------
MY BIGGEST LIES:
1- I love you!
2- The check is in the mail!
3- I wont cum in your mouth!
You are right - the entire world is not against Bush's unprovoked war. In fact, according to Fox News Turkey now supports the US because we are allowed to fly over their airspace. The only countries really supporting this action are Britian, Spain and Australia - however, the people of those countries are strongly opposed. In fact, in a recent poll in Britain people were asked what country is the biggest threat to world peace - it was a tie - North Korea and the US. We are in great company.
I think this war is unprovoked, however, I think Hussein is such a cocksucker he is getting what is long overdue.
I think this war is unprovoked, however, I think Hussein is such a cocksucker he is getting what is long overdue.
Seymour i essentially agree with your post so i am being pedantic but Fox News is demented if they think Turkey supports the US JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE "RENTED" their airspace for the war.
given the antipathy between the Turks and the Kurds the Turks have good reason to stay onside with the US if the price is right.
given the antipathy between the Turks and the Kurds the Turks have good reason to stay onside with the US if the price is right.
I would have to agree with Entropy on the Turks - they also do not want to be left out of a post-war voice.
Seymour: The British people are more than welcome to disagree - they and we are great allies and I do respect their opinions. Still OUR security issue, though. Blair has shown what statesmanship and leadership actually means, IMO. Finally, no surprise but yesterday's Gallup poll shows 76% of the US supports the war. The problem with small forums like these is that polls are most definitely not indicative of anything except what the random handful of people who respond to it think - nice to know, but meaningless.
Seymour: The British people are more than welcome to disagree - they and we are great allies and I do respect their opinions. Still OUR security issue, though. Blair has shown what statesmanship and leadership actually means, IMO. Finally, no surprise but yesterday's Gallup poll shows 76% of the US supports the war. The problem with small forums like these is that polls are most definitely not indicative of anything except what the random handful of people who respond to it think - nice to know, but meaningless.
Lander...
sorry baby bro (well he is 18) big war person was getting pissed he was typing away.
I just watch war stuff.. I don't talk about war or politics
sorry baby bro (well he is 18) big war person was getting pissed he was typing away.
I just watch war stuff.. I don't talk about war or politics
LMFAO..
Satan I just read your lies...
hahahahh
Satan I just read your lies...
hahahahh
TOUGH SHIT - deal with it.
Yeah, ok.
Whatever you say.
The fact of the matter is that the majority (as in, "majority rule") is against this war. You cannot argue that and so decide to become uppity and stronghanded.
It will be interesting to see who, out of these so called leaders, gets reelected due to their "increasing popularity".
Blair (UK) and Aznar (Esp.) are as good as gone.
Yeah, ok.
Whatever you say.
The fact of the matter is that the majority (as in, "majority rule") is against this war. You cannot argue that and so decide to become uppity and stronghanded.
It will be interesting to see who, out of these so called leaders, gets reelected due to their "increasing popularity".
Blair (UK) and Aznar (Esp.) are as good as gone.
