October 31, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 13, 1422

NEW YORK, Oct 30: For the first time, Americans are raising doubts about whether the nation can accomplish its objectives in fighting terrorism at home and abroad, including capturing or killing Osama bin Laden and protecting people from future attacks, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows.

After six weeks in which people were not inclined to criticize the government’s response, there are stirrings of discontent that extend both to how the nation is responding to domestic terrorism and to how it is handling the war, the New York times said.

The public is questioning whether the government is doing enough to forestall what it increasingly expects to be another terrorist attack in this country within months. Fifty-three percent say another attack is very likely, up from 46 percent two weeks ago and 36 percent two weeks before that.

Most people say they expect the attack to be in the form of bioterrorism. These responses came before Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on Monday that new terrorist attacks were expected.

The Survey also reveals that majority of Americans are prepared for a long and bloody conflict in Afghanistan; a majority of Americans say they are willing to accept the deaths of several thousand American troops.

Eight out of 10 respondents said they thought the conflict would extend beyond Afghanistan into neighboring countries and other parts of the world. However, more than half the public says the government in Washington has not done enough to prepare for a biological attack.