Sixty-two percent of those polled by NEWSWEEK say the military effort in Afghanistan cannot be considered a victory if bin Laden and Mullah Omar are not captured or killed. However, only 7 percent believe that capturing or killing bin Laden would be enough to eliminate the threat of future terrorist attacks. Thirty-two percent say it will also be necessary to kill or capture other top leaders in his organization, while a 52-percent majority says even that will not be enough because too many cells and potential leaders would remain (up from 40 percent last month).
Nearly two-thirds of Americans polled (65 percent) approve of giving U.S. military and intelligence agencies the power to assassinate terrorist leaders and Al Qaeda fighters in the Middle East; 57 percent approve of expanding targeted killings to Africa and Asia and 54 percent think assassinations should be carried out in Europe as well. However, 40 percent say a policy of targeted terrorist assassinations would increase the chances that more terrorist attacks would be carried out against Americans; while just 28 percent say it would decrease the chances and 28 percent say it wouldn’t make much difference either way. The public is split on support for covert operations to assassinate individuals overseas who give major financial support to terrorists: 45 percent say they would support it; 48 percent say they would not.
Though most Americans polled approved of giving U.S. military agencies the power to assassinate terrorists, many acknowledged that such a policy has not led to a decline in terrorist attacks on Israel. Just 19 percent of those polled say Israel’s use of assassination and other violence in response to terrorism has actually reduced the amount of terrorism that would have otherwise been carried out. Meanwhile, 32 percent say the policy has backfired and led to more terrorism against Israelis and 37 percent say it has not made much difference either way.
Asked about the videotape released by the U.S. government on Thursday of bin Laden talking about Sept. 11, 69 percent said it convinced them that bin Laden was behind the attacks. After viewing the videotape or reading the transcript, 48 percent say they now feel the Al Qaeda leader should be killed rather than captured.
In the fight against terrorism, a majority of Americans say U.S. military forces should target more than bin Laden and members of his Al Qaeda terrorist network. Seventy-eight percent favor using military force against Saddam Hussein and his military in Iraq; 75 percent favor using military force against suspected terrorist targets in other Middle Eastern countries and 66 percent favor using military force against suspected terrorist targets in countries outside the Middle East, such as Somalia and the Philippines.
The public is more dubious about the effectiveness of cutting off sources of funding that support terrorism: 47 percent say it’s very effective–down from 75 percent in October. Another 40 percent say it’s only somewhat effective.
Public support for the continued war against terrorism in Afghanistan remains high at 89 percent. But President George W. Bush’s job approval rating dipped a bit–to 81 percent–down from a high of 88 percent in October.
For the NEWSWEEK Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed by telephone 1,002 adults age 18 and older on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, 2001. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
