Nine out of 10 Americans say they support the current military action in Afghanistan. Seventy-nine percent support the use of military force against suspected terrorist targets in other Middle Eastern countries, with 81 percent approving the use of direct military action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Seventy-one percent support the use of military force to combat terrorism outside of the Middle East, in countries like Sudan and the Philippines.
Eighty percent say they are worried that the military action will lead to more attacks at home, and 83 percent fear more attacks on Americans abroad. But while a growing number of Americans report feeling less safe where they live and work, few have done much about it. Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed by NEWSWEEK say they feel somewhat or a lot less safe than before the attacks, up from 31 percent two weeks ago. Yet the majority of respondents say the attacks have done little to change their daily habits. And just 6 percent say they have taken steps to protect themselves from anthrax or other biological or chemical attacks, like trying to buy a gas mask or antibiotics.
Forty-eight percent of Americans agreed that attacks on major U.S. cities, buildings or landmarks was very likely to happen in the near future. Following the FBI warning Thursday of additional terrorist attacks against Americans “over the next several weeks,” the percentage of those saying more attacks are highly probable jumped to 52 percent, from 45 percent before the FBI warning. And after news Friday that a fourth anthrax case had been discovered in New York, the number of respondents who say they believe terrorists are likely behind the anthrax cases jumped to 51 percent (up from 41 percent a day earlier).
Yet, even as Americans’ fears of additional terrorist acts grows, so does their confidence in the government’s ability to handle those attacks. In Friday’s sample, 59 percent of those surveyed say they are very or somewhat confident that the government is prepared to deal with a biological or chemical attack, up from 51 percent two weeks ago. And 89 percent of respondents say this week’s military action was either somewhat or very effective in fighting terrorism. The public also supports the county’s nonmilitary action. Those surveyed rank cutting off funding sources as the most effective means of fighting terrorism, with 75 percent calling it very effective. By comparison, 51 percent rated this week’s military action very effective, and 46 percent are optimistic that future military action against targets in other countries will be very effective.
For the NEWSWEEK poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed 1,004 adults by telephone Oct. 11-12. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The poll is part of the Oct. 22 issue of NEWSWEEK, available on newsstands Oct. 15.
