Poll: Saddam a growing threat Americans clamor for action sooner rather than later

WorldNetDaily ^ | Dec. 14, 2002 | Jon Dougherty

[FairOpinion]

Wide majorities of Americans believe Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will become more dangerous if the United States does not take military action to disarm him, according to a newly released survey.

The poll, conducted by Scott Rasmussen, found that 63 percent of adults believe military action is needed sooner rather than later to ensure that Saddam does not become more powerful.

Nearly three-quarters, or 74 percent, said they believe Iraq already has nuclear and biological weapons, compared to just 8 percent who say Baghdad does not have such weapons of mass destruction.

If the U.S. does learn with certainty that Iraq possesses such weapons, however, fully 68 percent believe American interests would be better served by launching a military assault against Baghdad with the goal of disarming Saddam, according to the survey.

Eight in 10 Americans also believe war with Iraq is looming.

"Given that an overwhelming majority believe Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, it is not surprising that 82 percent of Americans say it is somewhat or very likely that the United States will soon be at war with Iraq," Rasmussen said.

That figure is down slightly from 87 percent a month ago, he said.

In terms of using ground troops to oust Saddam and destroy any WMD stockpiles, roughly half are in favor with just under one-third opposed. Support was slightly higher when the wording was changed to inquire specifically if the U.S. should use ground troops to eliminate nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

The poll is from a national telephone survey of 1,000 adults conducted Dec. 11-12. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percent, with a 95 percent level of confidence.

Other surveys also indicate American anxiety over Saddam.

Pollster John Zogby, in a study released Dec. 5, found that 70 percent of Americans believe Saddam is a genuine threat to U.S. security.

On Thursday, U.S. and Russian officials concluded a preliminary assessment of Iraq's 12,000-page weapons declaration submitted to United Nations inspectors Dec. 8. The probe's initial focus was on the acquisition of sensitive technology and how Iraq put it to use.

U.S. officials said the declaration does not account for a number of missing chemical and biological weapons and fails to explain attempted purchases of uranium and other items U.S. intelligence believes are related to Saddam Hussein's nuclear program.

The other three permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – Britain, China and France – are expected to provide their preliminary assessments by today.

President Bush told ABC News Thursday his gut feeling is that Saddam "is a man who deceives, denies."

Iraq says it has no weapons of mass destruction, but earlier this week U.S. officials found evidence that Iraq, in the months leading up to the Gulf War, was close to assembling a nuclear weapon.

[FairOpinion]

Despite of a few loud whines from some quarters, the majority of Americans recognize the threat posed by Saddam and understand the need for military action sooner, rather than later.

[mikenola]

It's been 15 months since 9/11, and freepers have been talking about war with Iraq since (at least) that time.

I'm curious what freepers think about why the admninistration is delaying? Lack of precision weapons? Shoring up support in Turkey? any feedback would be appreciated.

[Terriergal]

We need time to rebuild the military after Clinton gutted it though. Frustrating.

[Terriergal]

We need to be careful about what we say here. SAY what happened to the LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS note on the posting page?

Anyway I am sure it takes time when you consider how stretch the military was under the Clintoon admin.

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

FReeper, The Great Satan, believes that Saddam has forward agents here armed with the anthrax that showed up after 9/11 and that is the reason for the delay. He may very well be right.

[Hugin]

The media lately has taken to using the phrase "growing anti-war movement". Seems to me that it's the same old whacko lefties who simply took a hiatus while Clinton was attacking countries that were no threat to us. There is no growing anti-war sentiment among the American people, and in fact the opposite is true.

[Willie Green]

the majority of Americans recognize the threat posed by Saddam and understand the need for military action sooner, rather than later.

We have Castro, Chavez, Lula and Fox to worry about right in our own backyard.

[FairOpinion]

mikenola: "I'm curious what freepers think about why the admninistration is delaying? Lack of precision weapons? Shoring up support in Turkey? any feedback would be appreciated."
----
I think the main reason for the delay was indeed the shortage of weapons, but of course it wasn't prudent to advertise it, though I have seen some articles on it even back then.
I've read and looked into it in detail, that indeed our weapons inventory was so woefully inadequate that we used up virtually all our bombs and missiles in that little nothing war in Afghanistan. I looked up the unclassified data on the weapons inventories, and how many weapons,we used, etc. It was scary, that a country like the US allowed itself to be disarmed, and it was done by our own president, Clinton.

Anyway, I also read that companies were working the production lines 24/7 for the past year and now our inventories have been replenished, so we are ready. Not that we couldn't have wiped out Saddam even back then, if we had to go to war against him, but we may have inflicted more casualties, and we trying to minimize collateral damage, if possible.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

"I'm curious what freepers think about why the admninistration is delaying?"

I call it planning. And btw,.. this time it WILL be done right. This admin is not going to allow anything, not one political snafu, to interrupt fixing the problem.

But as another poster and I were just discussing. This is not just an al Queda problem or Wahhabi Muslim problem in Afghanistan. They are everywhere!! They have spread like a cancer. All the while our intelligence gathering abilities were severely damaged by Clinton and acts like the Torrecelli Ammendment.

It is not a co-incidence that there are so many hotspots around the world. It is not a co-incidence that they are all acting up at once. We are all served better if we look at the "larger" picture. And don't think Hans Blitz is a savior.. or for that matter the inspection team. Look into the history of that entity also.

If it hadn't been for this President, the UN would STILL BE SITTING ON THEIR COLLECTIVE BUTTS allowing Iraq to continue to thumb its nose at all of us, and to build weapons of mass destruction, and to stockpile chem/bio warfare.

This administration is doing an awesome job. They inherited a HUGE mess..and we as a nation are TRULY blessed to have them at the helm.

BTW... as an aside,.. can you imagine Bill Clinton taking the smallpox vaccine along with his troops? I didn't think so....

FRegards, Vets

[FairOpinion]

Terriergal: We need to be careful about what we say here. SAY what happened to the LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS note on the posting page?
Anyway I am sure it takes time when you consider how stretch the military was under the Clintoon admin.
----
You are right. But there were articles in the main newsmedia, though not many, discussing our shortage of weapons, which of course never meant that we didn't have enough to wipe out Saddam and turn Iraq into a parking lot at any time, if we had to go to war, just that more weapons allow us to have a attack better strategy, minimizing collateral damage.

[FairOpinion]

Willie Green: "We have Castro, Chavez, Lula and Fox to worry about right in our own backyard."
----
They are not threats of the same magnitude,not even close.
Besides, I think the US "can walk and chew gum at the same time".

[Terriergal]

of course.

[Willie Green]

Besides, I think the US "can walk and chew gum at the same time".

Bush's Plans for the Pentagon Include Base Closings and Money for Missile Defenses

The "two war" strategy that has underpinned U.S. military planning for the past decade has outlived its usefulness, leaving the United States increasingly vulnerable to emerging threats like ballistic missiles and cyberattack, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress.
Rumsfeld Calls U.S. Defense Strategy Out of Date

[Batrachian]

I don't know how we can even be discussing Iraq when Trent Lott still hasn't resigned.

Let's not be diverted from what's really important.

/sarcasm

[Momaw Nadon]

It's been 15 months since 9/11, and freepers have been talking about war with Iraq since (at least) that time.

I'm curious what freepers think about why the admninistration is delaying? Lack of precision weapons? Shoring up support in Turkey? any feedback would be appreciated.

Attack on Iraq Betting Pool

[WOSG]

LOL!

[Terriergal]

Check this short article out:

December 16, 2002, The Jerusalem Report, "The Cost of Hate," By Jennifer Knoll (Excerpt)

Washington has been quick to respond to slurs, notes Yigal Carmon, former counterterror adviser to prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin, and now chair of MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute, a Washington-based center which monitors Mideast media.

Last March Al-Riyadh, a Saudi paper, published an article charging that "the Jewish people must obtain human blood" from "mature Christian or Muslim adolescents" to prepare their "very special pastries" for Purim. Within days, spokesmen at the White House and State Department condemned the article, and Vice President Cheney said, "Clearly it is time for all newspapers and broadcasters in the Middle East to stop inciting violence with hateful lies."

The reaction was on all levels," says Carmon, "And sure enough they [the editor of Al-Riyadh] apologized and fired the writer." ?

Carmon says the change in administration policy is "really serious? this is a major step forward." ?

Carmon is convinced about the depth of the US commitment. While he acknowledged that the administration may want to soft-pedal its campaign as it gears up to face Saddam, he believes the effort remains strategic and determined - and that if US diplomatic pressure does not produce a change, countries like Egypt may well face financial repercussion. "The administration and the Congress are upset," he says, "and that is a major change for the better. The effort so far is a market of intention," he argues. "If the Arabs are wise, they will take it seriously. If not, we will meet after Iraq.

[CyberAnt]

The problem is that the 8% are supported by the whining media ... maybe that is the whining media.

The new VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY must renew it's commitment to set the record straight and continue their "fair and balanced" coverage.

[Robert_Paulson2]

The delay is due to:
Iraq is but one of a very large confederacy of rogue states, run by friends of the old chicoms, arab-islamo-communistas and WESTERN hemisphere marxist run nations... like cuba, columbia, brazil, argentina, and soon, venezuela.

Korea and China have exported our missile technology given by clinton, to their proxy warriors, and we are slated for destruction by not JUST Iraq, North Korea or Iran, but ALL of their subsidiaries and associates worldwide. Some of whom are in our own Congress, Colleges, Universities and court systems... such as the ninth circuit.

We don't know where all the WMD are. REad that as NUCLEAR bombs, not just "dirty" bombs. Read that as biologically modified and militarized Anthrax, pox of various types, hybrid forms of vx, mustard, botulin and ricin... and it was all in place, PRIOR to Bush's election.

If we attack, the counterattack could be severe. If they used combinations of all they have in three or four major cities, as well as in Britain and a few of our allies, the resulting confusion and tumult, would cost potentially MILLIONS of innocent Americans, or her allies lives.

Of course, we would probably nuke all suspects, but what good is that AFTER we lose 20 million Americans, or 50 million allies?

Hence, the 'needle in the haystack' routine.

This ain't like surgery to remove one small tumor, we are tring to kill a metastisized and advanced cancer that has invaded every strata of our globe: this is more like anexperimental form of chemotherapy that we are ATTEMPTING in order to save an already rotting corpse, targetting one cell at a time. TIME is NOT on our side.

LOTS of folks leaving the Bush administration... to spend time with their families, of late. What do they know that we don't. karen huges, mary matalin, henry kissenger are avoiding service in political life as conservatives... and quite suddenly too, I think.


REM had a song entitled "the end of the world as we know it." Most folks think "the end" began on 9-11. Truth is, it was over the day after bill clinton took office. Our advanced metastitic cancer began THAT day.

We are in a lot more trouble than we are being told. They don't want us to panic. Yet.

Bush has his hands full. Big Time.

[cubreporter]

It's because the majority of the American people know what is the right thing to do for our country. Those who oppose oppose for selfish reasons. I don't think they want to be "endangered" (although they don't realize they became endangered on Sep 11th) and this war might inconvenience some of them like the hollywood crowd who might have to cancel an AWARDS show for God's sake...and as far as the rest of hollywood who won't come out in the open and stand up for their right to be a conservative then I say to heck with them. Let them rot in their own stew.