Poll: Americans Fear Iran Will Develop, Use Nukes

Susan Page, USAToday:

Americans are deeply worried about the possibility that Iran will develop nuclear weapons and use them, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds, but they also fear that the Bush administration will act prematurely to deploy military force to prevent that from happening.

Nearly seven of 10 of those surveyed over the weekend say they are concerned that the United States will be "too quick" to use force against Iran, but they also recognize the quandary that policymakers face. There is almost as much concern that the United States won't do enough to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear arsenal.

"People see no easy answers ... and the limits of our power," says Richard Eichenberg, a political scientist at Tufts University who has studied wars and public opinion. READ MORE

"The Muslim world is in an uproar over the Danish cartoons (portraying the prophet Mohammed), Iran is quite vocal in challenging us, (and) Iraq continues to be a drip-drip-drip of daily violence and slow progress in forming a coalition government," he said.

All of that is eroding President Bush's standing, too. A 55% majority say they lack confidence in his administration's ability to handle the situation in Iran. Bush's job-approval rating has dipped to 39%, the first time it has gone below 40% since November, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

His State of the Union address and a series of presidential speeches warning of a continued terrorist threat and defending the administration on domestic wiretapping have failed to bolster views of Bush.

"It suggests that he's pretty much down to his core supporters out there ... and everyone else has left," says Richard Stoll, a Rice University political scientist.

The poll of 1,000 adults, taken Thursday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/—3 percentage points.

There is little doubt among Americans about Iran's intentions. Eight of 10 predict Iran would provide a nuclear weapon to terrorists who would use it against the United States or Israel, and almost as many say the Iranian government itself would use nuclear weapons against Israel.

Nearly six of 10 say the Iranian government would use nuclear weapons against the United States.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for such peaceful uses as providing energy, but U.S. and other world leaders are skeptical. The International Atomic Energy Agency voted this month to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible economic or political sanctions.