GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ --
Key Summary Points
- An overwhelming 90% of Americans support the United States' Sunday, Oct. 7 military response in Afghanistan to the terrorist attacks. Only 5% of those interviewed in a Sunday night CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll disapprove.
- These levels of support are not surprising. The vast majority of Americans have supported military action against the groups or nations responsible for the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks in all polling conducted since Sept. 11.
- Most Americans think that the timing involved in the attacks is appropriate. About three out of four of those interviewed on Sunday night said that the Bush administration waited the appropriate amount of time to begin, 14% said that attacks should have begun earlier, while 9% think the attacks began too soon.
- There is strong support in Sunday night's poll for taking military action in countries beyond Afghanistan. Previous Gallup polling has shown that that about three-quarters favor military action against Iraq.
- Asked prior to the attacks on Sunday 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.
- In Sunday night's poll, about eight out of 10 Americans say they support additional military action even if involves U.S. ground troops.
- In polling leading up to Sunday's initiation of military action, the public has consistently said it was 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. On Sunday night, most Americans seemed resigned to the fact that the way may be a long one. Almost half say that military action will last at least a year; only 10% think it will be over in a few weeks.
- Relatively few Americans are very or extremely confident that every global terrorist organization will ultimately be defeated.
- 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. UBS/Paine Webber/Gallup poll among investors conducted in September suggested that one impact of the terrorist attacks and their aftermath may be to increase support for defense spending, which jumped up in the priorities assigned it by investors when the pre-September 11 responses were compared to the post September 11 responses.
Details
The vast majority of Americans support military action against the groups or nations responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Ninety percent of Americans interviewed on Sunday night, Oct. 6, just after the U.S. military response in Afghanistan began, support the initiation of the military action in Afghanistan, while only 5% disapprove. Support levels for military retaliation on the part of the United States and its allies have, in fact, generally been at or around an extraordinary 90% level in all polling conducted from Sept. 11 through Sunday. If anything, there has been a slight tendency in polling conducted prior to Oct. 6 for Americans to say that the military action should have come sooner. On Friday and Saturday, just before the response began, 22% of Americans said that the Bush administration had not yet gone far enough in terms of a military response. But, on Sunday night, after the attacks had begun, that number dropped to 14%. Seventy-two percent said that the Bush administration waited the right amount of time to begin; 9% said that military action should have been delayed longer.
One of the most striking findings from the review of public opinion polling conducted since the Sept. 11 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 have made it clear that military action could result in the beginning of a protracted war; support levels remain at the two-thirds level or higher regardless. Sunday night, after the beginning of the military response, most Americans interviewed in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll seemed to accept the fact that the military action was going to take place over an extended period of time -- and still 90% approved. Only 10% of those interviewed said that the military action in Afghanistan would last only a few weeks, a third said it would last several months, and almost half said that it would last a year or more. An ABC/Washington Post poll conducted Sunday night found that 82% said that this was the start of a "long war" rather than a quick military action.
Sunday night's Gallup poll found high levels of support for additional military action even if it meant the introduction of U.S. ground troops. Previous polling has found that support levels remain high even when it is specified that there would be causalities among U.S. armed forces. A Sept. 21-22 Gallup poll introduced the idea of a war that might cost the lives of 5,000 U.S. troops. About eight out of 10 respondents continued to say they would support the U.S. campaign against terrorism even with this consequence. 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.
Two-thirds of Americans interviewed Sunday night favor additional direct military action in Afghanistan even if it mean Afghan civilians would be killed as a result of the military action.
Polling since the Sept. 11 attacks has shown that Americans recognize that U.S. military retaliation could result in increased terrorist attacks within the United States.Sunday night's instant reaction poll found Americans have an increased awareness that additional terrorist attacks within the United States could occur. The percentage saying that such attacks were very likely climbed to 41% from 22%, with a combined total of over eight out of 10 Americans saying that additional terrorist action within the U.S. is at least somewhat likely. As noted, support for military action remained at 90% even with this recognition. The ABC/Washington Post poll conducted Sunday night found that over half of Americans recognized that the U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan made further terrorist attacks against the United States more likely. Previous polling has shown that most Americans have favored military response even with these potential consequences. A September NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, for example, found 83% support "even if it means risking further retaliation and the threat of war."
There is strong support for conducting military action against the countries harboring the terrorists, as well as against the terrorists themselves. Sunday night, 78% said that the United States should take military action against other countries in addition to Afghanistan. Previous polls have shown that about 73% say that military action should be taken against Iraq. 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.
Despite support for military action, the American public is somewhat skeptical that global terrorism will ever be totally 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 would be able to complete its mission "to destroy terrorist networks around the world."
