Nearly Half of Adults Think U.S. Efforts to Prevent Iran From Building Nuclear Weapons Should Happen With U.N. Support, Accordi
March 23 2006 - 11:09AM
PR Newswire (US)
ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- While almost everyone is
concerned about Iran's nuclear program, almost half (47%) of all
U.S. adults think that the United States should only act with
support from the United Nations to prevent Iran from building
nuclear weapons. Only a few adults (8%) think that the United
States would be "perfectly justified to act alone," while more than
a third (38%) think that the United States could act alone, "but it
would be better to have support from the United Nations." These are
the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,435 U.S. adults
surveyed online by Harris Interactive(R) between March 8 and 14,
2006. The Harris Poll(R) also found that opinions on how the United
States should react to the threat of Iran building nuclear weapons
vary greatly by party. Fully 63 percent of Democrats and 50 percent
of Independents think that the United States should only act with
the support of the United Nations, while only 25 percent of
Republicans feel this way. A majority of Republicans think that the
United States would be "perfectly justified to act alone" (17%) or
that the United States could act alone, "but that it would be
better to have the support of the United Nations" (53%). Other
findings in The Harris Poll include: * Only a very small minority
(6%) of adults think that Iranian nuclear research is "not anything
for the United States to worry about." An overwhelming majority
(85%) says that this is cause for concern. * Fully 70 percent of
adults think that Iran is using their nuclear research to try to
build a nuclear weapon. One-quarter (25%) of adults are not sure.
TABLE 1 CONCERN ABOUT IRAN'S NUCLEAR RESEARCH "Recently Iran said
it was going to restart its nuclear technology research. Do you
think this should be a concern for the U.S. or not?" Base: All
adults Total % Should be a concern 85 Should not be anything for
the U.S. to worry about 6 Not sure 9 TABLE 2 IS IRAN TRYING TO
BUILD A NUCLEAR WEAPON? "Do you believe that Iran is using this
research to try and build a nuclear weapon?" Base: All adults Total
% Yes, Iran is using this research to try and build a nuclear
weapon 70 No, Iran is not using this research to try and build a
nuclear weapon 5 Not sure 25 TABLE 3 SHOULD UNITED STATES ACT ALONE
OR WORK WITH THE UNITED NATIONS? "In working to prevent Iran from
building nuclear weapons, to what extent should the United States
act alone, without support from the United Nations?" Base: All
adults Total Party ID Republican Democrat Independent % % % % The
United States should only act with support from the United Nations
47 25 63 50 The United States can act alone, but it would be better
to have support from the United Nations 38 53 29 38 The United
States is perfectly justified to act alone 8 17 2 7 Not sure 7 5 6
5 Methodology The Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the
United States between March 8 and 14, 2006 among 2,435 adults (aged
18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and
household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into
line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity
score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity
to be online. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one
could say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a
sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points of what they
would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with
complete accuracy. Sampling error for sub- samples of Republicans
(774), Democrats (814) and Independents (642) is higher and varies.
Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in
all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than
theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals
to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question
order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that
may result from these factors. This online sample was not a
probability sample. These statements conform to the principles of
disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. J27128 Q715,
720, 725 The Harris Poll(R) #27, March 23, 2006 By Humphrey Taylor,
chairman, The Harris Poll(R), Harris Interactive(R) About Harris
Interactive(R) Harris Interactive Inc.
(http://www.harrisinteractive.com/), based in Rochester, New York,
is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in
the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll(R) and for its
pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long
recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable
confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of
innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver
knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value. Harris
Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States,
Europe (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices,
its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France
(http://www.novatris.com/), and through an independent global
network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V To
become a member of the Harris Poll Online(SM) and be invited to
participate in future online surveys, go to
http://www.harrispollonline.com/. Press Contact: Jennifer Cummings
Harris Interactive 585-214-7720 Harris Interactive Inc. 03/06
DATASOURCE: Harris Interactive CONTACT: Jennifer Cummings, Harris
Interactive, +1-585-214-7720 Web site:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
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