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US public not convinced of need for war

US President George W. Bush has yet to convince Americans that war with Iraq is justified, according to a poll that suggests the White House has much work to do to win public support for military force.

"I think a little more diplomacy would be in order," said Creig Crippen, an 84-year-old retired Air Force veteran from Deland, Florida.

There is widespread support for removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but that support is conditional on proof of a threat from Iraq and on the support of allies, said the poll by the Pew Research Center for the TV show The People & the Press. The poll was released Thursday as the UN said it had discovered empty chemical warheads south of Baghdad.

Two-thirds or more in the Pew poll and other recent polls say they favor military action against Iraq -- but only under certain circumstances.

For example, the Pew poll suggested that support for war is strong, 76 percent, if UN inspectors find nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. The support is evenly split if they find no weapons but determine Iraq has the ability to make these weapons.

The public does not buy the administration's argument that Iraq must prove it does not have these weapons. Almost two-thirds, 63 percent, believed that Iraq's failure to show such proof would be insufficient reason for a war.

More than half, 53 percent, say the president has not yet explained clearly what's at stake to justify the US using military force to end Saddam's rule, according to the poll. Some 42 percent say he has.

The number who say Bush has clearly explained what's at stake has eroded since his September address to the UN, when it was 52-37 saying he had given a clear explanation.

At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush continues to work with other countries on a peaceful solution.

"But if Saddam Hussein will not disarm peacefully and it becomes necessary to disarm him by force, then what we would be doing is not only disarming a real and growing threat, but liberating Iraqi people from a brutal, oppressive regime," McClellan said.

The Pew poll of 1,218 adults was taken Jan. 8 to Jan. 12 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

"I believe that this is an action that is due because of Saddam Hussein's complete lack of respect for the democratic world and his people," said Philip Pederson, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran.
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