Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Fox news Poll: 60% of US voters say Force required to stop Iran; 56% - Nuclear Iran equal 'Disaster'

(FOXnews). A majority of American voters think military force will be necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons program, and many think it will be “a disaster” if Iran gains nuclear capabilities. A Fox News poll released Tuesday finds that 60 percent of voters think force will be required to stop Iran, while 25 percent think diplomacy and sanctions alone will work.

Just over half of Democrats (51 percent) and independents (51 percent) think force will be necessary, as do three-quarters of Republicans (75 percent). If Iran were to obtain the capability to use nuclear weapons, 56 percent think that would be “a disaster,” while 37 percent call it “a problem that can be managed” and 3 percent say it wouldn’t be a problem at all. Despite a slim majority of Democrats thinking it would be a disaster (51 percent), a large minority think it would be a problem that could be managed (42 percent). In stark contrast, Republicans -- by a wide 36 point margin -- think Iran with nukes would be a disaster (60 percent).

President Obama’s job rating for handling Iran stands at 41 percent approval and 42 percent disapproval, with the remaining 17 percent of voters unsure. For