THE TIMES POLL : Californians Support Bush’s Troop Decision : Opinion: A majority, however, also said it is likely that the U.S. could get bogged down in another Vietnam.

Californians strongly support President Bush’s decision to send American fighting forces to the Persian Gulf, but many also think the United States could become “bogged down in another Vietnam,” The Los Angeles Times Poll found.

And although there is concern throughout the state that the Middle East crisis could lead to a gasoline shortage, Californians still oppose drilling for oil off their coast, the survey showed.

People seem to have little trouble fixing blame for the big rise in gasoline prices: It’s not the fault of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime, but the oil industry, they say.

The Times poll conducted telephone interviews with 1,586 registered voters throughout California during six days ending Wednesday night. The margin of error is 3 percentage points in either direction.

The poll’s findings indicated that while Californians support the idea of standing up to Saddam Hussein, they realize that it involves risks to American lives and possibly to their own lifestyles. So far, they are willing to take those risks.

Three-fourths of those surveyed approved of “sending American troops to the Persian Gulf to defend Saudi Arabia” against a potential Iraqi attack--and roughly half “strongly” approved. Men and Republicans especially supported the military deployment--more than 8 in 10 did--but so did two-thirds of women and Democrats.

However, a majority--52%--also said it is “likely” that the United States could get bogged down in another Vietnam situation. Democrats and women particularly feared this.

Also, nearly two-thirds of the voters said they are “concerned” that the crisis will result in an oil shortage.

But when voters were asked whether they now would approve of offshore drilling to “help the United States be less dependent on Arab oil supplies,” or whether they opposed drilling “because it spoils the scenic beauty of California and risks oil spills that might damage the environment,” only 37% favored drilling and 57% were opposed. The remainder of those surveyed weren’t sure.

This represented only a slight softening of anti-drilling sentiment since last February, when a similar Times poll found 32% in favor and 60% opposed. Later, Bush banned most new drilling off the California coast for the rest of the decade.

Many people interviewed in this survey fretted about the economic impact of the Middle East crisis. Roughly 6 in 10 said they are “worried” that it “could help bring on a recession in California.”

But a virtually equal number also were worried that long-planned defense spending cuts could lead to a recession in the state. Roughly one in five of those interviewed said somebody in their family is employed by a firm that has military contracts. And of these people with families dependent to some degree on defense spending, more than a third said the affected employee faces either a layoff or reduction in work hours because of military cutbacks.

Following are results from a Los Angeles Times poll of 1,586 registered voters. Sending American Troops to Saudi Arabia Don’t know: 7% Disapprove: 19% Approve: 745 Likelihood of Vietnam Don’t know: 4% Unlikely: 44% Likely: 52% Source: L.A. Times Poll