Poll: More Concerned About Terror

Iraq Still Top Issue, But Terrorism Gains Over Last Month

(CBS) 
U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ

The public is cautiously optimistic about U.S. prospects for success in Iraq, and most want to see a timetable for bringing the troops home – though Americans divide on whether or not troops should start leaving right away.

Most Americans continue to say that today things are going badly for the U.S. in its efforts to bring stability to that country: 54 percent view the situation that way.

HOW ARE THINGS GOING NOW FOR THE U.S. IN IRAQ?

Well
44%
Badly
54%

Looking ahead, the public holds a guarded optimism that the U.S. will ultimately succeed in Iraq. 62 percent say it is likely that the U.S. will ultimately succeed there, though only 22 percent think that is very likely to happen. 35 percent think it unlikely that the U.S. will succeed.

HOW LIKELY IS U.S. TO SUCCEED IN IRAQ?

Very likely
22%
Somewhat likely
40%
Not very likely
25%
Not at all likely
10%

The public is similarly confident that the U.S. will succeed in the specific task of establishing a democratic government in Iraq: 61 percent say the U.S. is likely to do that, with 15 percent saying it's very likely to happen.

There is not, however, a lot of confidence among Americans that the President has a concrete plan for improving what most see as a bad situation in Iraq today: just 28 percent believe that Bush has a plan for dealing with the situation there.

DOES BUSH HAVE A PLAN FOR IRAQ?

Yes
28%
No
63%

The Bush Administration has said it has no plans to set a timetable for bringing the troops home from Iraq, and has noted what it sees as the dangers of doing so. Nonetheless, most Americans -- 55 percent -- would like to see a timetable for withdrawal.

SHOULD U.S. SET TIMETABLE FOR BRINGING HOME TROOPS?

Yes
55%
No
40%

45 percent of Americans want to see troop levels in Iraq decreased; most of them also think the war was the wrong thing to do in the first place. One-third of Americans would keep troop levels the same for now. Few -- just 15 percent -- want to increase them.

U.S. TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ SHOULD BE:

Increased
15%
Kept the same
32%
Decreased
45%

Overall, Americans continue to divide on whether or not taking military action in Iraq was the right thing to do -- as they have for more than a year.

U.S. MILITARY ACTION IN IRAQ

Right thing
Now
48%
6/2005
45%
4/2005
47%
1/2005
45%

Should have stayed out
Now
47%
6/2005
51%
4/2005
48%
1/2005
49%

THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO TERRORISM

Americans today are less confident the government has done all it could to make the country safe from terrorism than they were before the start of the war with Iraq. 41 percent say the government has done all it reasonably could to keep the country safe from terrorism since September 11, 2001, but 54 percent think they could have done more. Back in January 2003, before the U.S. took military action against Iraq, more than half said the federal government had done all it reasonably could to keep the country safe from future terror attacks.

HAS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DONE ALL IT COULD TO MAKE U.S. SAFE?

Yes
Now
41%
1/2003
52%

No
Now
54%
1/2003
45%

A majority of Republicans say the federal government had done all it reasonably could to protect the country from future attacks, while a majority of Democrats disagree.

Americans feel better about airport security. A majority -- 54 percent -- says the government has done all it could reasonably be expected to do to improve airport security, though 42 percent say it could have done more. The government, however, receives very low marks on the security of mass transit systems. Six in 10 say the government could have done more to improve security on trains and mass transit system since September 11, 2001.


HAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DONE ENOUGH TO IMPROVE SECURITY AT …?

Airports
Yes
54%
No
42%

Mass Transit
Yes
26%
No
61%

THE PRESIDENT

Ratings of George W. Bush are similar to what they were last month. Now, 45 percent of Americans approve of the overall job Bush is doing as president, up from 42 percent last month. Bush does not appear to have yet received a large boost from Americans’ renewed focus on terrorism, which remains his strongest area. 54 percent now approve of the Bush’s handling of the campaign against terrorism.

Bush’s ratings on the economy and Iraq remain much as they were in June. 40 percent approve of his handling of the economy, 39 percent approve of his handling of Iraq.

BUSH’S JOB APPROVALS

Overall
Now
45%
6//2005
42%

Campaign against terrorism
Now
54%
6/2005
52%

The economy
Now
40%
6/2005
39%

War in Iraq
Now
39%
6/200537
37%

Approval ratings for Congress continue to be low. 33 percent now approve of the job Congress is doing, while 50% disapprove. These percentages are nearly identical to those in June.

CONGRESS' JOB APPROVAL

Approve
Now
33%
6/2005
33%
5/2005
29%
4/2005
35%

Disapprove
Now
50%
6/2005
53%
5/2005
55%
4/2005
51%

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This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 632 adults, interviewed by telephone July 13-14, 2005. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus four percentage points for results based on all adults. Error for subgroups is higher.

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