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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Lacelle who wrote (44784)	4/30/1999 3:19:00 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

Absolutely no polls in this post --- Public Support for U.S. Involvement in Kosovo Diminishing Less Than Half Back Call-up of Military Reservists by Frank Newport GALLUP NEWS SERVICE There has been a significant downturn in the American people's support for the possible introduction of ground troops into the Kosovo situation. Additionally, support for the current air strikes and for the way in which President Clinton is handling the situation are also slipping, and less than half of the public favors the announced call-up of military reservists. The most recent Gallup poll was conducted Monday and Tuesday nights of this week. While support for both air strikes and ground troops had been rising steadily from mid-March through a mid-April poll, the current poll finds support levels for both actions are down. In this poll, 56% of Americans support the current U.S. and NATO air and missile attacks, down from 61% on April 13-14. Perhaps more importantly for U.S. and NATO policy decision-makers, support for the introduction of ground troops--if the air strikes are not successful--is down significantly. In mid-April, 52% of the U.S. public said that they would favor the introduction of ground troops if the strikes did not achieve U.S. objectives. In the most recent poll, that percentage has fallen to only 40% approval, with 56% saying that they are opposed. One reason for this downturn in public support may be continuing low levels of optimism about the impact of current or future military actions in the region. Only 35% of those polled Monday and Tuesday say that the NATO actions have been a success to date and, further, only 49% say that the NATO actions will ultimately achieve their objectives. Despite the heavy publicity and numerous justifications presented over the past month by both the U.S. administration and NATO leaders, these numbers have essentially not changed. President Clinton's position as the chief U.S. architect of the Kosovo intervention is also eroding, in the public's eyes. In the most recent poll, 54% say they approve of the way Clinton is handling the situation in Kosovo, down from 61% in mid-April. Additionally, only 38% of the public says that the Clinton Administration has a clear and well-thought-out policy on the Kosovo situation, essentially unchanged from earlier in the month. This suggests that the numerous explanations and briefings have done little to convince Americans that the policy is well planned or well executed. Clinton's overall job approval rating is now at 60%, basically unchanged from earlier this month, but down from the higher job approval numbers he enjoyed in the fall of 1998 and in January and February of this year. On Tuesday, the Clinton Administration announced the call-up of U.S. military reservists to assist in the military efforts. The public, as is true for so much of the Kosovo situation, has mixed reactions to the call-up: 46% favor it while 50% oppose it. There is greater support for the idea of a NATO oil embargo of Yugoslavia, by a 58% to 29% margin. For results based on the sample of national adults (N=1,073) surveyed April 26-27, 1999, the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. As you may know, the military alliance of Western countries called NATO, launched air and missile attacks against Serbian military targets in Yugoslavia. Do you favor or oppose the United States being a part of that military action? Favor Oppose No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 56% 40% 4% 99 Apr 21 51 39 10 99 Apr 13-14 61 35 4 99 Apr 6-7 58 36 6 99 Mar 30-31 53 41 6 99 Mar 25 50 39 11 99 Mar 19-21^ 46 43 11 99 Feb 19-21^ 43 45 12 ^ Question Wording: "If a peace agreement is not reached between the Yugoslavian Serbs and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, NATO has said it would carry out air and missile attacks against Serb military installations. Would you favor or oppose the U.S. being a part of that military action?" From what you have heard or read, do you think the Clinton Administration has a clear and well-thought-out policy on the Kosovo situation, or don't you think so? Clear and well-thought-out policy Don't think so No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 38% 54% 8% 99 Apr 13-14 41 51 8 99 Apr 6-7 39 50 11 99 Mar 30-31 46 47 7 If the current NATO air and missile strikes are not effective in achieving the United States' objectives in Kosovo, would you favor or oppose President Clinton sending U.S. ground troops into the region along with troops from other NATO countries? Favor Oppose No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 40% 56% 4% 99 Apr 13-14 52 45 3 99 Apr 6-7 47 47 6 99 Mar 30-31 39 57 4 99 Mar 25^ 31 65 4 94 Apr 16-18 41 53 6 ^ Question Wording: "If the current NATO air and missile strikes are not effective in achieving the United States' objectives in Kosovo, would you favor or oppose President Clinton sending U.S. ground troops into the region to stop the Serbian attacks on Kosovo?" Question Wording: "If the air strikes are not effective in stopping the Serbian attacks, would you favor or oppose President Clinton sending U.S. ground troops into Bosnia to join ground troops from other Western European countries?" Now thinking about the current situation in Kosovo, would you favor or oppose sending U.S. ground troops, along with troops from other NATO countries, to serve in a combat situation in the region right now? Favor Oppose No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 36% 60% 4% 99 Apr 13-14 43 53 4 99 Apr 6-7 41 54 5 From what you've heard and read, do you think the current NATO military action in Yugoslavia has been a success or a failure? Success Failure TOO SOON TO TELL (vol.) No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 35% 47% 9% 9% 99 Apr 13-14 37 46 9 8 99 Apr 6-7 37 41 15 7 Looking ahead to when the NATO military action in Yugoslavia has ended, do you think it will be a success or a failure? Success Failure TOO SOON TO TELL (vol.) No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 49% 37% 6% 8% 99 Apr 13-14 51 35 8 6 99 Apr 6-7 50 35 8 7 Do you favor or oppose a call-up of U.S. military reservists to assist in the NATO air war on Yugoslavia? 99 Apr 26-27 Favor 46% Oppose 50 No Opinion 4 100% Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as president? Approve Disapprove No opinion 99 Apr 26-27 60% 35% 5% 99 Apr 13-14 60 36 4 99 Apr 6-7 59 35 6 99 Mar 30-31 64 32 4 99 Mar 19-21 64 33 3 99 Mar 12-14 62 35 3 99 Mar 5-7 68 28 4 99 Feb 26-28 66 31 3 99 Feb 19-21 66 30 4 99 Feb 12-13 68 30 2 99 Feb 9 70 27 3 99 Feb 4-8 65 33 2 99 Jan 27 67 31 2 99 Jan 22-24 69 29 2 99 Jan 15-17 69 29 2 99 Jan 8-10 67 30 3 99 Jan 6 63 34 3 (vol.) = volunteered response