December 19, 2002	Thursday	Shawwal 14, 1423

WASHINGTON, Dec 18: Six in 10 Americans would support using nuclear weapons against Iraq if Saddam Hussein attacks US military forces with chemical or biological weapons, a poll said Wednesday.

Nearly 90 per cent of the US public also believed that a second Gulf War is virtually inevitable, according to a Washington Post-ABC Tele-vision News poll of 1,209 adults carried out last week.

Bush’s overall job approval rating stood at 66 per cent, and 79 per cent of people interviewed backed his handling of the anti- terrorism campaign, The Washington Post reported.

Six in 10 interviewees said Saddam Hussein should be toppled. But half were against using US ground troops to do it, and 58 per cent opposed military action without the United Nations’ support.

Most Americans viewed Iraq as a major threat and believe it has weapons of mass destruction, but fewer than half said it poses an immediate danger to the United States, the Post reported.—dpa