Poll: Americans oppose military attack on Iran

The Huffington Post:

"Only one in four Americans favors Israel conducting a military strike against Iran's nuclear program," according to a new University of Maryland poll released Tuesday evening. "Nearly seven in ten (69 percent) favor the United States and other major powers continuing to pursue negotiations with Iran, a position supported by majorities of Republicans (58 percent), Democrats (79 percent) and Independents (67 percent)."

I've pasted the full release from the University of Maryland below -- the results are striking:

Consistent with this emphasis on a diplomatic approach, three in four Americans say that the United States should primarily act through the U.N. Security Council rather than by itself in dealing with the problem of Iran's nuclear program.

The University of Maryland Sadat Chair for Peace and Development and PIPA, the University of Maryland-affiliated Program on International Policy Attitudes, conducted the study. The polling project was directed by Steven Kull, PIPA director, and Shibley Telhami, UMD Anwar Sadat Professor.

The poll of 727 Americans has a margin of error of +/-4.5 percent and was fielded between March 3 and 7 by Knowledge Networks.

If Israel acts?

If Israel goes ahead with a military strike against Iran's nuclear program and Iran retaliates - but not against American targets - only 25 percent favor the United States providing military forces should Israel request them (though support is a bit higher among Republicans at 41 percent). Another 14 percent favors the United States providing diplomatic support only.

The most popular position is for the United States to take a neutral stance, which is supported by 49 percent. This figure includes 27 percent who would also favor active efforts to end the hostilities and 22 percent who think the United States should simply not get involved.

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