http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/355/nation/Public_would_widen_war_to_include_Iraq+.shtml

Public would widen war to include Iraq

By Claudia Deane and Dana Milbank Washington Post, 12/21/2001

WASHINGTON - A confident American public strongly supports extending the antiterrorism war to Iraq and other countries, and most believe there can be no victory without the demise of both Osama bin Laden and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Though broadly satisfied with the war effort in Afghanistan and with the performance of President Bush and Congress, Americans express frustration that more is not being done to boost the economy from recession, and they are eager for the government to pay attention to domestic issues. Nearly 6 in 10 of those polled say Congress has neglected the economy, a notion likely to grow as lawmakers fail this week to agree with the White House on an economic stimulus package. Nearly 3 in 4 say Congress has paid too little attention to health care.

After the rapid collapse of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Americans, by a ratio of nearly 2 to 1, believe the war on terrorism will be a success only with the death or capture of Al Qaeda terrorist leader bin Laden and the removal from power of Hussein. By more than 3 to 1, Americans favor a broadening of the war to other countries where terrorists are believed to operate, such as Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The war effort has extended the burst of patriotic support for the government that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. President Bush finishes his first calendar year in office with 86 percent of the public approving of his handling of his job, a number that has been largely unchanged since Sept. 11 and is far above the 55 percent support he had earlier this year.

Overall, Bush ends his first year in office with an average approval rating of 72 percent, on par with the average rating his father received during his first year, in 1989. In comparison, Bill Clinton received an average first-year rating of 52 percent.

The public's estimation of Congress also has risen since the terrorist attacks. At the end of the first session of the 107th Congress, 59 percent of Americans - including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents - approve of the way Congress is doing its job. This marks the highest rating the Congress has received since the Post-ABC News poll began measuring it, in 1989. Three in four say Congress is paying the right amount of attention to the war in Afghanistan, and about half say the Congress is adequately focused on homeland security.

With the Bush administration and congressional Democrats finger-pointing over the failure to pass economic stimulus legislation, the poll suggests that the White House has the advantage in the battle for public opinion. Sixty-seven percent say they approve of the way Bush is handling the economy - a byproduct of the 89 percent approval he gets for his handling of the antiterrorism war. But Congress receives no such leeway, with 58 percent declaring that lawmakers have done too little about the economy.

A total of 755 randomly selected adults nationwide were interviewed Tuesday and Wednesday nights for this poll. Margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2001