Poll Analysis: Americans Overwhelmingly Approve of Clinton’s Decision to Attack Terrorist Camps

Americans overwhelmingly support President Bill Clinton's decision to launch missile strikes against terrorist camps in Sudan and Afghanistan, with three quarters of all Americans expressing approval. Furthermore, most Americans do not believe the military action was designed to divert attention away from the Lewinsky affair, according to a new national Los Angeles Times poll conducted August 22, 1998.
     
Decision to launch missile strikes
     Seventy-five percent of respondents approve of Clinton's decision to launch missile strikes, with a high 54% strongly approving. Support of Clinton's decision is broad-based, although it is higher among men (85%) than women (65%.) It is high among liberals and conservatives (75% and 73%), Democrats and Republicans (76% each), young (70% of 18-29 year old Americans) and older (77% of 65+ Americans) respondents, and Americans in all regions of the nation. Americans who have been following the terrorist situation closely are somewhat more supportive (77%) than those who have not (67%).
     Not only do Americans approve of Clinton's decision to launch missile strikes, they support Clinton's handling of the situation overall. Over half (53%) believe Clinton has done an excellent or good job explaining why he authorized the attacks, with 33% saying his explanation has been only fair or poor. Moreover, just under three-fourths (73%) of Americans trust Clinton and his advisors to make the right decisions about handling this terrorist situation. Although 50% of Americans feel Clinton should have sought congressional support before launching the missile strike, 42% of respondents disagree.
     Clinton receives high marks on his handling of the terrorist situation regardless of one's ideology or party affiliation. Fifty-five percent of liberals and 52% of conservatives believe he has done an excellent or good job explaining his actions and 42% of Republicans and 59% of Democrats feel this way as well. Furthermore, 58% of Republicans say they trust Clinton and his advisors to make the right decisions (Over two-thirds of independents and 87% of Democrats feel this way). Trust in the president varies some along ideological lines, with 82% of moderates, 79% of liberals, and 57% of conservatives expressing trust in the president and his advisors. Over half of conservatives (54%) and liberals (55%) alike feel that Clinton should have sought approval from Congress before taking action. Half of all moderates, on the other hand, said they felt such approval was unnecessary.
     Americans may approve of Clinton's actions on many fronts, yet 67% of Americans agree that one of the purposes of the missile strikes should have been to kill the leader of the terrorist group responsible for the recent bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania-- a view held by high proportions of men and women, Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and young and older Americans.
     
Motivation for missile strikes
     Given that the air strikes occurred on the heels of Clinton's publicly damaging admission to having an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky, some speculated that the timing of the attack was more calculated than serendipitous. However, most Americans give Clinton the benefit of the doubt with only 6% believing his sole motivation in launching the missile strikes was to divert attention away from the Lewinsky affair. A majority (59%) believe Clinton's decision to strike terrorist sites was based solely on legitimate factors. Nearly a third (32%), however, believe Clinton's action was partially motivated by a desire to divert attention away from the Lewinsky affair.
     Americans' belief that Clinton was motivated by legitimate factors alone splits along party lines. Fifty-nine percent of independents, 68% of Democrats and 67% of liberals said the Lewinsky matter had nothing to do with Clinton's decision, but 50% of conservatives and 45% of Republicans felt that the strikes were partially motivated by an effort to divert attention away from the Lewinsky affair. Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans (40% and 13% respectively) to believe the Lewinsky situation partially influenced Clinton's actions.
     
Clinton's job ratings
     Clinton's job approval rating is 65%, up three points from a Los Angeles Times poll conducted August 18 and 19, 1998. His rating for handling foreign affairs rose dramatically, from 56% a few days ago to 71% today. Clinton's job rating is stronger with Democrats (86%), but still high with independents (65%) and holding steady among Republicans (40% up from 37% in the earlier poll). Americans who have been following the terrorist situation closely hold Clinton in even slightly higher regard for his job performance (67%) than those who have not been following the events closely (60%). Clinton's rating for handling foreign affairs is even strong among Republicans (58%). Those respondents following the terrorist situation closely support Clinton's handling of foreign affairs even more strongly at 73% versus 66% among those who have not been following it closely.
     
Impact of terrorist situation on Lewinsky controversy
     Clinton's handling of events in Sudan and Afghanistan appear to have slightly lessened the blow caused by his admission of the Lewinsky affair. In the days following Clinton's televised address regarding the Lewinsky matter, 67% of Americans said the Lewinsky controversy had interfered with Clinton's ability to do his job and just 30% felt it had not interfered. Today, the number who believe it has not interfered has risen sixteen points to 46% while 51% believe the controversy has interfered with Clinton's ability to do his job.
     The recent events overseas did not change American's minds about the importance of the Lewinsky situation. In the poll completed three days earlier, 52% said the Lewinsky situation was of great or some importance to the nation. Today, the number remains virtually unchanged at 51%.
     Reaction to the Lewinsky controversy continues to break along party lines. Democrats are less likely than Republicans to believe the situation has interfered with Clinton's ability to perform his job as president (55% saying it has not interfered versus 36% of Republicans feeling this way). They are also quite a bit less likely to see this issue as important to the nation (36% versus 78% among Republicans).
     
Perception of Clinton's international stature/credibility in light of Lewinsky admission
     Americans may be able to look past the Lewinsky matter in evaluating Clinton's handling of this international issue, but they are not as confident the international community will be able to do so. A majority of Americans believe that Clinton's admission of an inappropriate relationship with Lewinsky has diminished his stature as an international leader, with 67% of respondents giving this response (31% believe it has not diminished his international stature). Republicans are also more likely to feel this way (82% versus 59% among Democrats and 61% among independents).
     Furthermore, despite high job approval ratings, Clinton's credibility rating remains slightly below what it was in a Los Angeles Times poll taken in late January 1998, shortly after the Lewinsky allegations emerged. Fifty-seven percent of Americans believe Clinton is very or somewhat credible, down four points from 61% seven months ago. Not surprisingly, liberals and moderates are more likely to see Clinton as credible than are conservatives, and Democrats and independents are more likely to find Clinton credible than Republicans.
     
Concerns about terrorism
     The situation in Sudan and Afghanistan is clearly on America's mind. Seventy-six percent of Americans have followed news of the terrorist situation closely.
     Strong concern about terrorism most likely prompts this high awareness of recent events in Sudan and Afghanistan. More than half (54%) of Americans believe that terrorism here in the United States is a very serious problem. Another 34% believe it is a somewhat serious problem-- for a total of 88% of respondents expressing concern about terrorism on United States soil. Regardless of gender, ideology, party affiliation, and age, high proportions of all subgroups consider terrorism to be a serious problem.
     Forty percent of Americans believe it is very likely that terrorists will strike somewhere in the United States in retaliation for the U.S. missile strikes. Another 44% think it is somewhat likely, for a total of 84% holding this view. Americans who have paid close attention to the terrorist situation are even more likely than those who have not to believe terrorists are likely to strike in the United States (88% to 72%).
     Respondents are only slightly less concerned that such terrorist activity will happen near where they live or work. Fifty-seven percent of Americans are either very (27%) or somewhat (30%) concerned about terrorist activity taking place near where they live and work. Just 43% said they are not too concerned or not concerned at all about such activity occurring close to home. Women are more concerned than men about terrorist activity taking place close to where they live or work (62% to 52%).
     Americans are also pessimistic that law enforcement could prevent future terrorist attacks in the United States if they were given the tools they needed. Just four percent believe all attacks could be prevented and 35% believe many could, a further 45% believe only a few could be prevented and another 10% believe that, even with the appropriate tools, law enforcement would not be able to prevent any future attacks.

How the Poll Was Conducted
The Times Poll contacted 895 adults nationwide by telephone August 22. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the nation. Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and non-listed numbers could be contacted. The entire sample was weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education, and region. The margin of sampling error for the entire sample is plus or minus four percentage points. For certain subgroups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.