- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A
majority of Americans would back U.S. military action to topple Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein as long as Washington did not act alone, according to a
poll released on Monday.
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- The Washington Post/ABC News poll, conducted as the Bush
administration studies ways to achieve "regime change" in Baghdad,
showed public support for war stood at 69 percent.
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- But the poll showed that support would slip if U.S. allies
opposed it and if it would mean a high number of U.S. casualties.
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- In the absence of allied support, fewer than half of
those polled would support military action, the poll indicated. And while
57 percent said they supported a U.S. invasion with ground troops, backing
declined to 40 percent if the U.S. casualty toll began to mount.
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- Accusing Baghdad of developing weapons of mass destruction,
Bush has branded it part of an "axis of evil" and an "enemy
until proven otherwise." His stated policy is to seek the ouster of
Saddam.
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- Seventy-nine percent of Americans agreed with the president's
view that Iraq is a threat, according to the Washington Post/ABC News poll.
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- After weeks of public debate on the subject, the poll
found the public evenly divided on whether Bush had a clear Iraq policy.
Forty-five percent said he did but 42 percent said he did not.
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- Under pressure from some members of Congress and many
foreign allies not to launch an unprovoked attack, Bush stressed on Saturday
that he had no timetable for deciding whether to use military force against
Iraq. He also said he was consulting with lawmakers and foreign governments.
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- Seventy-five percent of the poll respondents said Bush
should get authorization from Congress before going to war, and about half
said Bush should have the final decision if it came to military action.
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- The national poll of 1,023 adults was conducted Aug.
7-11 and had a three percentage point error margin.
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