Poll shows Americans want military action

A new poll reveals Americans believe the nation should take military action against those responsible for the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

But the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll shows that sentiment declines at the prospect of thousands of innocent civilians being killed.

Sixty eight per cent say they believe the United States will go to war.

The New York Times reports the telephone poll of 959 adults nationwide was conducted on Thursday and Friday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Eighty five per cent say the United States should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks. 75% of those people say the action should be mounted even if innocent people are killed. Almost all of them say they would favour going to war with a nation that is harbouring those responsible for the attacks.

While majorities of all demographic groups support using military force, men are more likely to support it than women. Those who lived through the Second World War and the wars in Korea and Vietnam are the least likely to back military engagement.

Sixty two per cent say they are very confident in the ability to capture the people who planned the attacks while 29% say they are somewhat confident.

"I don't like the idea of American lives being lost in a war," said Virginia Harrison, 56, a housewife in Tallahassee, Florida.

"But we can't just sit here and let them continue to do it because they will probably do it again. I don't believe innocent people should be killed if it's not necessary, but we had innocent people who were killed."

Although more than half the respondents say they do not think Arab-Americans are any more sympathetic toward terrorists than other Americans, the public is expecting a backlash against Arab-Americans, Muslims and immigrants from the Middle East.