WASHINGTON, 3 April — As the world struggles to grapple with the violence in the Middle East, a new poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly support Bush administration efforts to put pressure on both the Israelis and the Palestinians in an effort to bring about a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis.
According to a Gallup Poll, more than seven in 10 Americans currently approve of President Bush’s handling of the situation in the Middle East, while slightly less than one-quarter disapprove.
A strong majority of Americans say they would support the Bush administration if it decides to apply economic and diplomatic pressure to Israel and to the Palestinian Authority to try to reach a peaceful solution in the Middle East.
Americans increasingly view the Middle East crisis as having very important implications for the United States, the poll noted.
Leaders at the Arab summit in Lebanon last week made a statement collectively opposing any military action against Iraq, but another recent Gallup Poll here finds that Americans support the use of air power in Iraq but have more mixed opinions on the use of US ground troops there.
Two-thirds of Americans would support military air strikes in Iraq. A slight majority (53 percent) would favor arming and training Iraqi opposition forces, while a substantial minority (42 percent) would be opposed.
Americans are more closely divided in terms of their support or opposition for the use of ground troops in Iraq, with 46 percent saying they would favor the use of ground troops and 50 percent saying they would be opposed, Gallup Poll said.
Still, six in 10 Americans feel it is a “very” important goal for the United States to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and an additional 28 percent feel it is a “somewhat” important goal.
