North Korean nuclear program also widely preceived as ‘critical’ danger, poll finds; Republicans fear Islamism more than do Democrats
February 20, 2013,
In
this photo released by the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency
(ISNA), an Iranian Shahab-3 missile is launched during military
maneuvers outside the city of Qom, Iran, Tuesday, June 28, 2011 (photo
credit: AP/ISNA, Ruhollah Vahdati)
NEW
YORK — A huge majority of Americans view Iran’s nuclear program as a
“critical threat,” alongside the North Korean nuclear program and
“international terrorism,” according to a poll released Monday.
The Gallup poll found that 99 percent of
Americans believe the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is a threat “to
the vital interests of the United States in the next 10 years,” with
83% saying it was a “critical threat” and another 16% saying it was an
“important, [but] not critical” one. Just 1% declined to say it was at
least an important threat.
The poll was conducted February 7-10 among 1,015 respondents aged 18 and older. It has a margin of error of 4%.
The poll asked respondents to comment on nine
possible threats. Iranian nuclear weapons generated the most concern,
though only by the slimmest of margins.
North Korean nuclear weapons garnered nearly
identical levels of concern, with 83% calling them a “critical threat”
and 14% an “important” one, though these answers came before last week’s nuclear test by the communist regime.
“International terrorism” rounded out the
three leading threats perceived by the American public, with 81% and 17%
calling it a “critical” and “important” threat, respectively. The
remaining threats included Islamic fundamentalism (53%-28%), China’s
economic and military power (52%-39%), the military power of Russia
(29%-53%) and the conflict between India and Pakistan (25%-55%).
The widest gap by party affiliation related to
the perception of the threat from Islamic fundamentalism, with 70% of
Republicans saying it was a critical threat, compared to 46% of
Democrats.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has continued
to decline as a perceived threat, with 44% of those polled saying it
was a “critical threat” to US interests, a drop from 58% in a 2004 poll.
Forty-four percent said the conflict was an “important” threat, and 9%
said it was not important.
Islamic fundamentalism and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict both ranked lower as threats among the
young compared with older Americans. Among Americans under 34 years old,
just 35% said Islamic fundamentalism was a critical threat, compared
with 64% among those 55 and older. When it came to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 32% of the young saw it as a critical
threat, compared to 54% of those over 55.
According to Gallup, “this year’s poll marked
the first time Gallup asked about North Korean and Iranian nuclear
weapons specifically. In 2010 Gallup asked about the two countries’
‘military power,’ and found 61% rating each as a critical threat to the
United States, second only to international terrorism. In 2004, the
‘spread of weapons of mass destruction to unfriendly powers’ ranked
second only to terrorism. Thus, Americans have previously seen North
Korea and Iran, and nuclear weapons in general, as serious threats to
the US.”
The findings on American perception of Iran correspond to other polling in recent years. A Gallup poll
conducted in early February 2012 asked Americans whom they considered
to be the United States’ “greatest enemy today.” The question was
open-ended. Nearly one-third, or 32%, named Iran — more than any other
country.
“The high level of concern Americans give to
North Korea, as well as to Iran and to international terrorism, suggest
these are areas on which the public would like the Obama administration
and its new foreign policy team to focus its efforts,” Gallup noted.
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