These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
51% Say U.S. Should Help Israel If It Attacks Iran
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Iran's first nuclear plant is expected to go online within the next few days, and some speculate that Israel will take military action to prevent it. Fifty-one percent (51%) of U.S. voters believe the United States should help Israel if it attacks Iran.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 35% say the United States should do nothing in the event of an Israeli attack on Iran, and two percent (2%) think America should help the Iranians.
Support for helping Israel is up nine points from two years ago when just 42% believed the United States should help the Jewish state if it launched an attack on Iran.
Despite Iran's claims that the nuclear facility is intended for energy production, 66% of voters in this country think the purpose of Iran's nuclear program is to develop weapons. Just seven percent (7%) say its purpose is the development of energy. But a sizable number (27%) are not sure.
Eighty percent (80%) say it is at least somewhat likely that Iran will develop nuclear weapons soon, with 53% who believe it is Very Likely. Only 10% say Iran is not very or not at likely to develop such weapons in the near future.
Americans have expressed a similarly high level of concern about Iran's nuclear weapons development for several years .
The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters each were conducted on August 17-18, 2010 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 .
Only 57% of voters now characterize Iran as an enemy of the United States, down from 70% in August of last year . Two percent (2%) view Iran as a U.S. ally, and 37% place it somewhere in between an ally and an enemy.
Yet voters have consistently rated Iran the number one national security threat to the United States since last October .
Still, given Russia's and China's continued blockage of any meaningful United Nations action against Iran, just 29% think the United States should take action alone against the rogue Islamic nation .
Sixty-one percent (61%) of male voters say the United States should help Israel if it attacks Iran, compared to 44% of female voters.
Most Republicans (74%) and voters not affiliated with either party (52%) believe the United States should help Israel, but a plurality (49%) of Democrats think America should do nothing.
But then 55% of Democratic voters view Iran as somewhere between an ally and enemy, while 76% of GOP voters and 61% of unaffiliateds regard the Middle Eastern nation as an enemy.
Republicans and unaffiliated voters are also much more likely than Democrats to think that the purpose of Iran's nuclear program is to develop weapons.
Eighty percent (80%) of all voters say they have followed recent news reports about Iran at least somewhat closely.
Voters are now as pessimistic about America's relationship with Israel as they are about relations with the Muslim world.
Last September , a majority of Americans picked Israel as one of only five countries that the United States should help militarily if it is attacked.
For the first time this year , the number who believe America is safer today than it was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks is slightly higher than those who disagree.