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CBS Poll: 25% Back Preemptive U.S. Nuke Strike
Newsmax ^ | June 22, 2002 | Carl Limbacher

Posted on 06/23/2002 10:49:18 AM PDT by Conservative Chicagoan

NewsMax.com

 

Saturday, June 22, 2002 12:05 p.m. EDT

CBS Poll: 25% Back Preemptive U.S. Nuke Strike

A surprisingly high percentage of Americans surveyed this week said they would support a preemptive nuclear strike on countries that harbor terrorists if President Bush decides it is justified to stop another attack on the United States, a CBS News poll released late Friday found.

While still a mere fraction of the population, a full 25 percent of respondents told CBS pollsters that the U.S. would be "justified in using a nuclear weapon first against another country" if that country is planning another terrorist attack against America.

And nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, 73 percent, said they "trust Bush to make the right decisions about the use of nuclear weapons," a CBSNews.com report on the poll said.

However, 65 percent said the U.S. would "not ever be justified in using a nuclear weapon first against another country."

Support for a non-nuclear first strike is much higher, with 83 percent saying the U.S. would be justified in doing so to stop another attack. Only 9 percent opposed a non-nuclear first strike.

When pollsters asked specifically about Iraq, a full 70 percent said they support a non-nuclear preemptive attack to remove Saddam Hussein from power, with only 20 percent opposed. CBS pollsters did not ask about a nuclear first strike against Iraq specifically.

The CBS News survey randomly interviewed 892 adults between June 18-20, 2002. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Bush Administration
War on Terrorism

A product that might interest you:
Revealed: The Terrorists Living Among Us



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: americans; patriotism; terrorism
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This is not good news. It appears that many Americans don't realize what needs to be done to defeat the terrorists.
1 posted on 06/23/2002 10:49:18 AM PDT by Conservative Chicagoan
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
On Sept 12, I would have taken out about 20 cities, if I were president. I give credit to Mr. Bush for his restraint.

2 posted on 06/23/2002 10:52:42 AM PDT by M. T. Cicero II
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
Maybe they will realize what needs to be done after one or more of our cities goes up in a mushroom cloud. I pray that it doesn't take that much, but I guess that 3,000+ civilians murdered in an unprovoked attack didn't hit home enough for the morons participating in this poll.
3 posted on 06/23/2002 10:54:31 AM PDT by Ancesthntr
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To: M. T. Cicero II
That restraint will get a lot of Americans killed. And once we lose a city or two, 95% of that 65% will be wondering why we didn't nuke first.
4 posted on 06/23/2002 10:57:14 AM PDT by LenS
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
I'm surprised, given the profile of the Sept 11 terrorists (15 of 19 Saudii), that Saudi Arabia hasn't been included in the nations that sponsor terrorism. I, for one, am glad Rudy G told that Saudi prince to take a hike (with his $10m) after the prince suggested what the U.S. should do.
5 posted on 06/23/2002 10:57:21 AM PDT by spald
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
And nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, 73 percent, said they "trust Bush to make the right decisions about the use of nuclear weapons," a CBSNews.com report on the poll said.

This is a man who can't even be fully trusted with the Constitution. If he can't do right by a scrap of paper, why should he fare better with a tactical nuke?

6 posted on 06/23/2002 10:58:16 AM PDT by Darth Sidious
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
IRAN
7 posted on 06/23/2002 11:01:24 AM PDT by Love of Country
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To: M. T. Cicero II
On Sept 12, I would have taken out about 20 cities, if I were president.

That would have been a good start. At any rate, we would have gotten the attention of the remainder - and the message would be: "Attack our civilization, and yours is forfeit."

8 posted on 06/23/2002 11:07:25 AM PDT by Noumenon
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: Conservative Chicagoan
Well, the worship of the Dr.Strangelove story has born its fruits. America simply does not know what it is facing from abroad, and worship of non-use of nukes in a world fast equiping with nukes to destroy the US is more dangerous than Dr.Strangelove himself.
10 posted on 06/23/2002 11:10:33 AM PDT by lavaroise
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
This is not good news. It appears that many Americans don't realize what needs to be done to defeat the terrorists.

Yeah---the OTHER 75 PERCENT don't realize what needs to be done to defeat the terrorists.

It is going to take WILL, and it's going to take people who jealously love their way of life and who unquestionably believe in their own righteousness---in the righteousness and the rightness of what we have in America. Self-hating liberalism will just get us killed. At stake is civlization.

Remember: these towel-headed boy-buggerers have been working on this for 1400 years. Societies rise and fall. Societies based upon democracy and pluralism typically last even less long. Just because we have been around all of MY lifetime is no sign that it won't/can't end today.

History is against us.

(Thank God our fathers' generation didn't have this inane conversation in WWII or the USA wouldn't have been around after the 1940's.)

11 posted on 06/23/2002 11:11:41 AM PDT by gg188
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To: RBishopIL
That restraint will get a lot of Americans killed. But at least we're TOLERANT! What's more important, a city or two or tolerance and the socialist agenda?

To the self-hating, America-hating left---who hates Western Civilization---we may die but at least we were politically correct, diverse, and multi-cultural.

I'd say these wusses will be the first to go if a billion mohammedans overrun the West, but I imagine the ragheads would save all the liberal men for use as their concubine boys back in the tents with the camels.

12 posted on 06/23/2002 11:14:17 AM PDT by gg188
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To: Ancesthntr
Maybe they will realize what needs to be done after one or more of our cities goes up in a mushroom cloud. I pray that it doesn't take that much, but I guess that 3,000+ civilians murdered in an unprovoked attack didn't hit home enough for the morons participating in this poll.

I believe the U.S. and the West deep down have the will to do what is necessary. The question is, what will it take? They need to do a poll on that.

a) 30,000 lives lost, 30,000,000 jobs, and a DOW of 500 or so?

...straight through to...

d) 3,000,000 lives in a nuke blast making a major U.S. city uninhabitable for the next 100,000 years, grounding every airline, closing every bank, and sending the world into the second dark age (cause by the same people who brought us the FIRST dark age)

What will it take, I wonder?

Thank GOD no one who ever CONSIDERED a question like this had the ear of Harry Truman in 1945.

13 posted on 06/23/2002 11:18:06 AM PDT by gg188
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
" nine percent opposed a NON-nuclear first strike ... "

Other than a handful of principled pacifists, could the rest of them actually be American citizens?

14 posted on 06/23/2002 11:18:12 AM PDT by AngrySpud
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To: Love of Country
Irans people are not Jihadist their government is I would say we should preemptively nuke Saudi Arabia though.
15 posted on 06/23/2002 11:20:11 AM PDT by weikel
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
"While still a mere fraction of the population..."

All polls are a mere fraction of the population. Is CBS trying to minimize the poll results? Do they have this statement on all their polls?

16 posted on 06/23/2002 11:22:22 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
Nuking an enemy is a litle tough when it is difficult to pinpoint his location. But a barrage of daisy-cutters, carefully spaced over a few military installations, tends to disrupt the enemy's ability to regroup, and he loses the momentum of his drive. Plus no residual radioactivity.
17 posted on 06/23/2002 11:24:22 AM PDT by alloysteel
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To: LenS
You are correct. After the next attack on a major US city this poll will go to 90%.

And I think Bush would be well advised to listen to the American people.

18 posted on 06/23/2002 11:27:03 AM PDT by Licensed-To-Carry
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To: Conservative Chicagoan

I SAY GO FOR IT

19 posted on 06/23/2002 11:28:58 AM PDT by 4TheFlag
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To: Conservative Chicagoan
Consider the source of the poll: CBS.

They asked a bunch of moderates and libs to get the 25% figure.

I say "ef" them, "Lets Roll".

20 posted on 06/23/2002 11:48:09 AM PDT by gitmogrunt
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