-Caveat Lector-
"Target goal almost reached."
US Support Grows for Ground Troops
By WILL LESTER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Public support for sending NATO ground troops into Serbia
has increased in recent weeks, according to several polls, although analysts
say Americans still have doubts.
Support for the use of ground troops, including Americans, has increased by
10 percentage points or more in recent weeks. The level of support varies,
depending on the poll and the wording of the question.
``The plight of the refugees has increased public support for the concept of
the United States being involved,'' said Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of
the Gallup Poll. ``But there are serious reservations about how well it's
being executed and the potential for success.''
More than half in several surveys support the use of ground troops. But at
least two polls, CNN/USA Today/Gallup and CBS/New York Times, suggest the
public is evenly divided on the question.
Asked in one poll if they support ground troops being sent into Serbia now,
four out of 10 respondents approved. In another, almost three-fourths said
they approve ground troops if that's the only way to stop the fighting.
In the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, two-thirds of those who favor the use of
ground troops said the main reason was that the United States has a moral
obligation to help the refugees.
President Clinton has said repeatedly he doesn't intend to send ground troops
into Serbia, but he has come under increasing pressure from private military
and foreign policy analysts, and some members of Congress, to use them.
``The support is very sensitive to who carries the burden, how likely is the
chance of success, and what are the numbers of casualties,'' said Ivo
Daalder, a European security specialist at the Brookings Institution. He said
public sympathy has been heightened by ``images of people loaded onto cattle
cars and being lodged in huge refugee camps.''
Support for the current policy of airstrikes also has grown in several polls
by 10 percentage points or more in the last few weeks, with up to two-thirds
of the public expressing support.
Public opinion about intervention in that part of Europe has evolved after
NATO's successful intervention in nearby Bosnia, said Steven Kull, director
of the Center on International Policy Attitudes.
The increase in public support for the military operation in Yugoslavia is
not a total vote of confidence in the Clinton administration's handling of
the situation, the polls indicated.
While a majority approved of the way the president is handling the situation
in Kosovo, the CBS/New York Times poll showed that 58 percent believe the
president is reacting to events in the Serbian province as they occur.
People were about evenly divided on whether the military action in Yugoslavia
was succeeding and whether peace in Yugoslavia was worth the loss of American
lives.
ABC News polling director Gary Langer said public support for U.S. military
action usually depends on the presence of several factors:
A direct threat to this country;
A threat to American vital interests;
The need for retaliation for action against this country;
A strong humanitarian need, and whether people want U.S. help;
A clear public explanation of why the action is needed.
``You've got support for military action, even sending ground troops, based
on weaker motivations, primarily humanitarian concerns,'' Langer said. In the
ABC/Washington Post poll, 58 percent said the Kosovo refugee situation made
them more likely to support military action.
The NATO attacks on Yugoslavia are ``playing better for the administration
than I expected,'' said Robert Shapiro, a specialist in politics and public
opinion at Columbia University. ``I might have expected more cynicism.''
The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,055 people taken Tuesday and Wednesday has
an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The CBS/Times poll of
811 adults and the ABC/Post poll of 1,011 adults were taken Monday and
Tuesday with error margins of plus or minus 4 percentage points and 3.5
percentage points, respectively.
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
