POLL ANALYSES
November 14, 2001
Latest Summary: American Public Opinion and the War on Terrorism
The war, leadership, the economy, anthrax, and our daily lives
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
The War
After more than a month of military action in Afghanistan, two things are clear. First, nothing appears to have made a fundamental change in Americans' support for the war. Second, there are signs that Americans are becoming somewhat more optimistic about the war’s progress.
From the beginning, the public has been resolute in its support for military action against those responsible for the terrorist attacks. In the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Nov. 2-4, 86% approved of the military action -- almost the same as the 88% recorded in Gallup's Oct. 19-21 poll. Additionally, in a Nov. 8-11 poll, only 9% of Americans said that it was a mistake for the United States to send military forces to Afghanistan. Gallup has been asking this question since the Korean conflict, and this is the lowest "mistake" reading that Gallup has found. Even at the height of the Persian Gulf War, about two out of 10 Americans said that U.S. involvement was a mistake.
Support for the war is at almost universal levels among Republicans nationwide -- 97%. Eighty percent of Democrats support the war, as do 79% of independents. There is very little difference between men and women in their support for the military action.
The vast majority of those who approve of military action say they approve strongly, while those who disapprove do so in varying degrees: 71% say they support military action strongly, 15% moderately, 5% disapprove moderately, and 6% disapprove strongly.
There is a clear connection between views on the war and views about President Bush. Those who tend to be the most likely to disapprove strongly are those who don't approve of Bush overall. But, there are relatively few Americans who disapprove of Bush at this stage. He gets 87% approval for his handling of the U.S. military action and 89% for his overall handling of the war on terrorism.
Other U.S. leaders -- including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and Vice President Dick Cheney -- also get generally strong marks for their handling of the war on terrorism. Fewer people have an opinion about Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge’s handling of the war on terrorism, but those who have an opinion are similarly positive.
An early November poll had shown that there were mixed levels of satisfaction with the "progress made by the U.S. military in the war." Also, a mid-October poll had shown that only 42% of Americans said the United States and its allies were winning the war against terrorism. In the Nov. 8-11 poll, however, that percentage was up to 53%. While this is still nowhere near the January 1991 percentage of Americans who thought that the United States was winning the Persian Gulf War, it most likely reflects the news reports of the Taliban’s retreat from key Afghan cities.
When Americans were asked in October about the use of ground troops in Afghanistan, 80% approved. In early November, the poll measured support for putting "large numbers of ground troops into combat," and found support somewhat lower, at about the two-thirds level. Other polling has found that support for ground troops remains well above the 50% level, even when it is specified that there will be significant numbers of American military casualties as a result.
Support for ground troops is weakest among Democrats, non-whites, Americans ages 65 and up, and those living in the East.
While a majority of Americans have a positive opinion of the Afghan people (as opposed to their Taliban leadership or Osama bin Laden), previous polling has shown that Americans generally accept that civilian casualties may be a necessary part of war. In similar fashion, there is no strong sentiment, at this time, that the United States and its allies should be doing more to offer humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
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