For the first time since it began, most US citizens believe the Iraq War is not part of the war on terrorism, as US President George W. Bush keeps insisting, a New York Times/CBS News poll published yesterday found.
Fifty-one percent of the 1,206 adults surveyed between Aug. 17 and Aug. 21 believed the two wars were separate, while 44 percent saw a link. In June the opinion was split evenly at 41 percent.
Going to war in the first place was considered a mistake by 53 percent, up from 48 percent last month; 62 percent said US efforts to stabilize Iraq were going badly; 65 percent were disappointed in how Bush was handling the situation.
And 46 precent said Bush had focused too much on Iraq and not enough on terrorists elsewhere, while 42 percent said the balance was about right.
Despite the warning the apparent rejection of the administration's Iraq policy sends to Republican lawmakers, Bush's job approval rating in the poll remained unchanged at 36 percent (57 percent disapprove) from last month.
A USA Today/Gallup Poll on Tuesday found Bush's approval rating had jumped five points to 42 percent following the arrest in Britain of 24 suspects in a foiled bomb plot against US-bound jetliners.
How Bush handled the war on terrorism met with the approval of 55 percent of respondents in the Times/CBS poll. In other key policy issues, such as the economy and foreign policy, Bush's disapproval rating neared the 60 percent mark.
The poll found that despite the recent Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement, 70 percent of Americans believed that lasting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors would never come, against 26 percent who said it would.
A majority of 56 percent said it was not the US government's business to broker a peace between Israel and its neighbors; 39 percent believed it was.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS