Americans would back attack on Iran: poll

Americans would back attack on Iran: poll

06/24/03: (ABC News Australia) Most Americans would back US military action against Iran to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons, but concern is growing over US troop casualties in Iraq, according to an opinion poll.

The Washington Post/ABC (America) poll found 56 per cent of respondents endorsed the use of the US military to block Iran from developing nuclear weapons while 38 per cent opposed it.

The United States has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, supporting "terrorist" organisations and of meddling in the affairs of neighboring Iraq, where US troops toppled the government of Saddam Hussein in April.

The poll found growing concern over the number of casualties among US forces in Iraq.

Since the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 46 US troops have been killed in hostile circumstances there.

Since President George W Bush declared major combat over on May 1, the death toll stands at 19 killed in combat.

About half of the 1,024 people surveyed said the current level of US forces killed was "acceptable", down from two-thirds with the same view in early April.

Overall support for the war in Iraq was still strong but the Post said it might be ebbing slightly.

Two in three people said they approved of the way President Bush was dealing with Iraq but this is down from 75 per cent in late April.

About 64 per cent said the benefits of the war outweighed its cost, a drop from 70 per cent in a survey late April.

The poll found seven in 10 people were concerned the United States would become involved in a long and costly peacekeeping mission in Iraq.

In addition, about one in four respondents incorrectly believed Iraq had used chemical or biological weapons against US forces during the conflict.

More than six in 10 people said the decision to go to war in Iraq was justified even if the United States did not find weapons of mass destruction, the reason cited by the Bush administration for going to war in the first place.

The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points for the poll and interviews were conducted June 18-22.

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