President Bush and his administration have expended a great deal of effort in recent days and weeks trying to sell the case for war with Iran, whether explicitly or implicitly. But by and large their case is falling on deaf ears among the American public, as evidenced by new numbers from The Pew Research Center.
In recent weeks, the Bush administration also has highlighted the increasing threat posed by Iran, both because of its nuclear program and its reported support for anti-U.S. insurgents in Iraq. But public perceptions of the Iranian threat have not increased over the past year. Currently, a quarter of Americans volunteer Iran as the country representing the "greatest danger" to the U.S., the highest percentage naming any single country. In February 2006, a comparable number (27%) cited Iran as the greatest threat to the U.S. And the public is split evenly over whether it is more important for the U.S. to take a firm stand against Iranian actions or to try to avoid a military conflict with Iran (43% each).[...]
About a third of Americans (34%) say they have read or heard a lot about reports that Iran may be providing weapons to insurgent groups in Iraq. Public awareness of this issue is somewhat lower than it was regarding Iran's nuclear program last September (41%).
Overall, Americans are evenly divided over whether it is more important to "take a firm stand" against Iran or to avoid a military conflict with Iran. The political and ideological differences over how to approach Iran resemble the divisions over Iraq. Nearly two-thirds of conservative Republicans (65%) and a smaller majority of moderate and liberal Republicans (55%) believe it is more important to take a firm stand against Iran; among Democrats, majorities of liberals (60%), and conservatives and moderates (51%), say it is more important to avoid a military conflict with Iran.
In addition, 40% of conservative Republicans cite Iran as the country that represents the greatest danger to the United States; no more than three-in-ten in any other partisan group identifies Iran as the country presenting the greatest danger. However, somewhat fewer conservative Republicans name Iran as the biggest threat to the U.S. than did so a year ago (48%). [embpasis added]
Even the President's most loyal base -- conservative Republicans -- aren't buying the notion that Iran represents an existential threat to the United States, or even that it is the greatest threat to our nation's security. And when looking at the broader public as a whole, even fewer are accepting the Bush administration's saber rattling as it relates to Iran.
If the numbers do not speak clearly enough, let's put it another way: Americans do not want war with Iran.
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