20 January 2005	Thursday	09 Zilhaj 1425

WASHINGTON, Jan 19: A major new national opinion survey of 1,608 American voters released on Wednesday shows that only 42 percent of Americans would support the US invading Iran to stop its nuclear programme.

Nearly half - 47 percent - of US voters would oppose such a move and 11 percent are unsure. The survey was conducted by Washington-based Opinion Research Corporation for the non profit and non partisan Results For America, which is a project of the Civil Society Institute.

Fewer than one in 10 voters - 7 percent - think that the primary focus of American foreign policy and security should be on the "democracy building" that is now the major thrust of US efforts in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Civil Society Institute President Pam Solo said: "The Iraq experience clearly has been a sobering one for Americans. Voters are embracing a "new realism" in foreign policy and security matters that puts more emphasis on safer US borders, intelligence gathering, diplomatic initiatives, multinational interventions when necessary and greater energy efficiency in order to decrease America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil."

The survey also shows that voters want to de-emphasize current strategies such as nation building, unilateral military invasions and the direct or indirect use of torture. The American public seems ready for an open, honest and democratic debate on the best course of action.

Keeping in mind how the war in Iraq has gone so far, voters were asked if they are now more or less likely to support a greater emphasis by the US on diplomacy and multinational military action versus a "go it alone" approach.

A clear majority of 64 percent are now much or somewhat more likely to support diplomacy and multinational action. Interestingly, there was no difference on this question between Bush and Kerry voters. The ORC survey of 1,608 voters was conducted on Dec. 2-6, 2004 and found that voters strongly support the following foreign policy initiatives:

• America's highest foreign and military policy priority should be close to home -- "defence of US borders and homeland security" was selected by a plurality of 43 percent of voters versus considerably smaller groups identifying their top priority as "democracy building" in other nations (seven percent) or "going it alone" on military interventions (six percent).

• 64 percent support a greater emphasis on diplomacy and multinational military action than is currently the case in the US

• 81 percent agree that it matters whether people around the world respect our country and that the US needs the rest of the world on its side to effectively fight terrorism.

• 86 percent feel it is important for the US administration to pursue a fuel efficiency target of 40 miles per gallon, in part in order to reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil.