Poll: Americans Broadly Support War

March 21 -- Americans broadly support the war with Iraq — but their views of its timing, and of George W. Bush's handling of the conflict, are considerably weaker than public views at the start of the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Bush's approval rating for handling the situation with Iraq is 65 percent; his father's comparable rating at the start of the Gulf War was 80 percent. And Bush's overall job approval, 67 percent, is up just five points from early this month. His father's overall rating, by contrast, jumped 16 points after the 1991 war began, to 79 percent.

Some other basic measures of support, while high, are also lower than they were the last time around. Sixty-seven percent of Americans say the United States did enough to seek a diplomatic solution before attacking; it was 77 percent at the start of the Gulf War. And on timing, 62 percent say it was right for the United States to attack now — compared to 75 percent on Jan. 16, 1991, the night the Gulf War began.

These views likely reflect, at least in part, the current president's inability to win United Nations support, which many Americans would have preferred. And unlike Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the threat this time is more ambiguous — believing it requires believing Bush, which many Democrats, in particular, are less apt to do.

Public backing for the war held steady Thursday night, after spiking Monday night when Bush set a 48-hour deadline for attacking. Seventy-two percent of Americans support the war, and most, 53 percent, support it "strongly," same as Monday night. That's closer to the level of support for the Gulf War at its start in 1991 — 76 percent.

Among supporters of the war, nearly 80 percent say they support both the troops and the president's policy, while 20 percent say they support the troops, but oppose the policy. At the same time, the number of people who "strongly" support the war, 53 percent, far outstrips the number of "strong" opponents, 18 percent.