Americans Unenthusiastic About ‘Star Wars’ Project

Americans surveyed show little enthusiasm for President Reagan’s proposal for a space-based defense system, opposing even exploratory research on the “Star Wars” project and strongly favoring a ban on all military weapons in outer space, according to the latest Los Angeles Times Poll.

Respondents to the nationwide survey also agree by a 2 to 1 ratio that such a defense system, designed to shield the United States from incoming nuclear missiles, might be viewed as threatening by the other side and upset the already precarious nuclear balance of power.

However, almost half of those surveyed admit that they have heard little or nothing about the “Star Wars” proposal.

The poll, taken at a time when U.S. arms control negotiators were seeking to formulate a strategy for upcoming weapons reduction talks with the Soviet Union, also disclosed only minimal optimism about the outcome of the planned negotiations.

Asked how they think the talks--agreed upon recently by Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko--will turn out in the long run, only 45% feel the negotiations will be successful, while 37% say they will be a failure and 18% are uncertain.

The public also holds deep reservations about the Soviet Union’s living up to any arms control agreement. Two-thirds of those surveyed agree that the Soviets “could not be trusted to keep their part of the bargain,” compared to less than 1 out of 4 who feel that the Soviets could be trusted.

Nevertheless, Americans broadly favor some kind of agreement to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

Their strongest preference is for an arrangement such as the one the President has proposed, calling for both sides to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear arms. This option was the choice of more than 80% of respondents.

However, by a margin almost as great, those surveyed also favor an agreement to freeze nuclear weapons at their current levels and to ban the future development of nuclear arms--a plan the Reagan Administration has scorned on grounds that it would be unverifiable and would lock the United States into a nuclear disadvantage against the Soviet Union.

Fifty-seven percent favor an agreement to destroy all nuclear weapons that have already been built.

On the question of the verifiability of nuclear agreements, 58% say they would demand absolute certainty that the Soviets were complying with the terms of any arms control pact. Something less than absolute verification would satisfy 39%, and even among those respondents who feel that the Soviets cannot be trusted, almost one-third say they would be willing to accept something less than complete verification.

The public seems to believe that the President’s massive military buildup is working. Asked which nation they feel is stronger in terms of nuclear weapons, 25% pick the United States and 24% say the Soviet Union. That is a dramatic shift from a March, 1982, survey, when 7% said the United States and 41% named the Soviet Union.

Fifty-five percent also agree with Reagan’s characterization of the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” that threatens this nation’s moral and religious values. And just over half of all respondents say they would be willing to risk the destruction of the United States rather than be dominated by the Soviets.

In pressing the President’s plan for research on a space-based defense system, U.S. officials have rejected Moscow’s arguments that it would jeopardize Soviet security by giving the United States the ability to launch a nuclear strike without fear of retaliation. By 56% to 28%, however, those surveyed agree when asked, “Do you think a ‘Star Wars’ system threatens its opponents?”

Most Americans also take issue with the Administration’s plan to spend $26 billion over the next five years for research on space-based defense. Fifty-five percent say they would ban any such research to avoid nuclear weapons escalation. Only one-third agree that the research should go ahead to find out whether the idea is workable.

In addition, by almost 2 to 1, respondents favor outlawing the use of any weapons in space, a proposal introduced in 1981 by Moscow at the United Nations and opposed by the Reagan Administration.

In other survey findings:

--72% feel the United States now possesses enough nuclear weapons to destroy its enemies.

--Seven out of 10 respondents say they seldom or hardly ever worry about the possibility of nuclear war.

--81% believe that neither side would win a nuclear war, but the United States was picked over the Soviet Union among the handful of respondents who did believe that nuclear war was winnable.

--63% think the United States must learn to “live and let live” with the Soviets, while less than half that percentage says conflict with the Soviet Union is inevitable.

The poll, conducted by Times Poll Director I.A. Lewis, surveyed a scientific cross section of 1,847 adult Americans from Jan. 19-24 by telephone. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.