Thread: 20% Now Support U.S. Military Action in Libya: Down 4%

20% Now Support U.S. Military Action in Libya

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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Voter support for continued military action in Libya continues to fall along with the number of voters who think dictator Moammar Gaddafi will be removed from power as a result.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that just 20% now believe the United States should continue its military action in Libya. Fifty-two percent (52%) oppose further military action there, while another 28% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Support for continued military action in Libya is at a new low, down from 24% in July and 26% in June. This also marks the first time a majority of voters oppose continued military action in the North African nation.

Just 33% of voters now give the Obama administration good or excellent marks for its handling of the Libya situation, down from 36% last month and the lowest positive rating since the president announced his decision to get involved in March. Nearly the same number (31%) gives the administration a poor rating on the situation there.

A majority of voters (54%) think it’s at least somewhat likely that Gaddafi will be removed from power as a result of U.S. efforts in Libya, but that number is down from 63% in May and 62% in March. Still, only 26% say it’s not likely Gaddafi will be removed from power, with only three percent (3%) who say this result is Not At All Likely to happen. Another 14% aren’t sure.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 15-16, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Most Americans also want to bringing home U.S. troops from Afghanistan within a year as few Americans think we have a clearly defined mission anymore in that troubled country.

Now only 34% say it’s likely that U.S. military involvement in Libya will be over by the end of the year, down slightly from last month. A majority of voters (51%) do not think the United States will be out of Libya by the end of the year, with 15% who say it’s Not At All Likely. Another 14% are not sure.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters are still following news stories on Libya at least somewhat closely, including 24% who are following Very Closely. Thirty-one percent (31%) aren’t following news reports on the country closely, but only five percent (5%) aren’t following at all.

Just 13% of Republican voters favor continued military involvement in Libya, compared to 25% of Democrats and 22% of voters not affiliated with either party.

Half of Political Class voters (51%) support continued U.S. involvement in Libya, compared to just 15% of Mainstream Voters who feel the same.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of all voters agree that “the United States should not commit its forces to military action overseas unless the cause is vital to our national interest.

Recent polling finds that nearly one-half of Americans now think the United States can make major cuts in defense spending without putting the country in danger. They believe even more strongly that there’s no risk in cutting way back on what America spends to defend other countries.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Likely U.S. Voters think that thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program of the federal government as the nation searches for solutions to the budget crisis. Just 35% say the military should be exempt from such cuts.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... n_in_libya

Eventually Libya will have to be rebuilt. Probably it will cost more than 1 trillion.