- A surprisingly high percentage of Americans surveyed
this week said they would support a preemptive nuclear strike on countries
that harbor terrorists if President Bush decides it is justified to stop
another attack on the United States, a CBS News poll released late Friday
found.
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- While still a mere fraction of the population, a full
25 percent of respondents told CBS pollsters that the U.S. would be "justified
in using a nuclear weapon first against another country" if that country
is planning another terrorist attack against America.
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- And nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, 73 percent,
said they "trust Bush to make the right decisions about the use of
nuclear weapons," a CBSNews.com report on the poll said.
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- However, 65 percent said the U.S. would "not ever
be justified in using a nuclear weapon first against another country."
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- Support for a non-nuclear first strike is much higher,
with 83 percent saying the U.S. would be justified in doing so to stop
another attack. Only 9 percent opposed a non-nuclear first strike.
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- When pollsters asked specifically about Iraq, a full
70 percent said they support a non-nuclear preemptive attack to remove
Saddam Hussein from power, with only 20 percent opposed. CBS pollsters
did not ask about a nuclear first strike against Iraq specifically.
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- The CBS News survey randomly interviewed 892 adults between
June 18-20, 2002. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points.
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- http://www.newsmax.com/showinside.shtml?a=2002/6/22/110620
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