"Policy Of Restraint Makes U.S. Safer"

Policy Of Restraint Makes U.S. Safer, Say Americans

By Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
October 08, 2008
Courtesy Of Angus-Reid

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More people in the United States now think that the best strategy to protect national security is to stop meddling in Middle East affairs, according to a poll by CBS News and the New York Times. 51 per cent of respondents say the U.S. will be safer from terrorism by staying out of other countries’ problems, up six points since October 2007.

Conversely, 38 per cent of respondents say a better strategy to stay safe is to confront the nations and groups promoting terrorism in the Middle East, down nine points in a year.

Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. In July 2004, the federal commission that investigated the events of 9/11 concluded that "none of the measures adopted by the U.S. government from 1998 to 2001 disturbed or even delayed the progress of the al-Qaeda plot" and pointed out government failures of "imagination, policy, capabilities, and management."

Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. In October 2001, U.S. president George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, claiming that there would be "no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them." The conflict began after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In his January 2005 inauguration speech, U.S. president George W. Bush said: "It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world."

Bush vowed to use America’s influence "confidently in freedom’s cause" and promised not to impose styles of government on other nations, saying, "Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way."

On Oct. 6, Patrick Seale, a well-known British author on the Middle East, argued that whoever becomes president of the U.S. after the November election will have to revise the current administration’s policies, saying, "What seems clear is that the ‘Bush Doctrine’—particularly the ambition to reshape the Middle East by force to make it safe for America and Israel—will be tossed into the waste bin of history."

Polling Data

Which comes closer to your view? In the long run, the U.S. will be safer from terrorism if it confronts the countries and groups that promote terrorism in the Middle East. Or, In the long run, the U.S. will be safer from terrorism if it stays out of other countries’ affairs in the Middle East.

Sept. 2008 - Oct. 2007

Confronts: 38% - 47%

Stays Out: 51% - 45%

Unsure: 11% - 8%

Source: CBS News / New York Times

Methodology: Telephone interviews with 936 American adults, conducted from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.