The American People's Priorities for Fighting Terrorism

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A recent Gallup Panel survey asked Americans to rate how much of a priority each of six different steps should be for the United States in the war on terrorism. Increasing CIA and FBI efforts to find and capture suspected terrorists ranks as the top priority among the six tested. A large majority of Americans also say capturing or killing Osama bin Laden should be a high priority. Republicans rate capturing suspected terrorists as the highest priority in the war on terrorism, while Democrats are equally likely to say the highest priorities are capturing terrorists and fostering better communication between Muslims and Americans.

Overall Results

The Sep. 21-24 poll asked Americans the following question: Do you think [item rotated] should be a very high, high, medium, or low priority for the U.S. as part of the war on terrorism?

Of the six items tested, Americans assign the highest priority to increased CIA and FBI efforts to find and capture suspected terrorists, with more than 8 in 10 Americans saying this should be a "very high" (45%) or "high" (39%) priority. Roughly 7 in 10 Americans also say that capturing or killing Osama bin Laden (74%) and fostering better communication between Muslims and Americans (69%) should be a priority in the war on terrorism. Establishing a stable democratic government in Iraq, resolving the conflict between Israel and Arab nations, and using strong military action against nations that sponsor terrorism all rank at the bottom of the list of priorities, with fewer than 6 in 10 Americans saying each should be a very high or high priority.

Republicans vs. Democrats

Republicans (including independents who lean toward the Republican Party) and Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) differ significantly in their views of priorities in the war on terrorism.

Overall, increasing efforts to find and capture suspected terrorists ranks at the top of the list of priorities among Republicans, while Democrats are equally likely to say capturing suspected terrorists and fostering better communication between Muslims and Americans should be the highest priorities. Fostering better communication is next to last on Republicans' priorities.

Of the six items tested in the survey, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say four of the items should be a high priority for the government in the war on terrorism. The widest disparity concerns establishing a stable democratic government in Iraq -- 80% of Republicans say this is a high or very high priority compared with 38% of Democrats who think so. Republicans are also more likely to endorse the idea of using strong military action against nations that sponsor terrorism (73% vs. 40%), increasing efforts to find and capture terrorists (96% vs. 75%), and capturing or killing bin Laden (80% vs. 69%). Democrats are only more likely than Republicans to say fostering better communication between Muslims and Americans (74% vs. 65%) should be a priority for the country. There is essentially no partisan difference in views that resolving the conflict between Israel and Arab nations should be a priority.

Survey Methods

Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged 18+, conducted September 21-24, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's nationally representative household panel, which was originally recruited through random selection methods. For results based on the total sample of National Adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Do you think [RANDOM ORDER] should be a - very high, high, medium, or low - priority for the U.S. as part of the war on terrorism?

Capturing or killing Osama bin Laden

Attempting to foster better communication between Muslims and Americans

Resolving the conflict between Israel and Arab nations

Establishing a stable democratic government in Iraq

Using strong military action against nations that sponsor terrorism

Increasing CIA and FBI efforts to find and capture suspected terrorists