NINE out of 10 Americans think the United States should take military action against those it holds responsible for the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, and 78% expect ”another terrorist attack,” according to an opinion poll released on Monday. The poll of 1 216 Americans, conducted for CBS Television and The New York Times, showed 68% of Americans expect the fight against the attackers to last for over a year. A large majority of those polled were ready to support military action even if US soldiers were killed, or if there were many thousands of civilian casualties. The poll, in line with other recent surveys, showed that Bush’s approval ratings have risen steeply. Some 90% of those surveyed said they approved of the way Bush responded to the attacks and 89% liked the way he was doing his job. Bush’s approval rating was just 50% on August 1, according to the pollsters. Sixty three percent of those questioned believed the United States had entered a recession. It was the first time since Bush took office in January that a majority of Americans had considered the United States to be in a recession, defined as two successive quarters of a shrinking economy. – Reuters
Monday September 24, 2001