A new CBS poll finds that nearly 7 in 10 support air strikes in Libya — a sign that the U.S. public will give early efforts a chance. But if the history of past wars is any indication, patience won’t last forever — and probably even less in the case of Libya:
Nearly seven in ten Americans support the use of military air strikes in Libya in order to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, a new CBS News poll finds.
In a survey taken on Sunday and Monday, following Saturday’s first round of U.N.-sanctioned missile and air strikes aimed at Libya, 68 percent of Americans said they approved of the military action. Just 26 percent said they disapproved.
Add to that Dem. Rep. Dennis Kucinich who raised the possibility of impeaching Barack Obama over the bombings [the problem here is a) no support in Congress and b) no support among the public], and filmmaker Michael Moore.
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Fifty percent of Americans said they approved of how President Obama was handling the situation in Libya, and the president earned more support from Republicans on the issue than he did on domestic issues like the economy and the deficit. Forty-three percent of Republicans said they approved of Mr. Obama’s handling of the Libya situation, according to the poll, and 41 percent disapproved. Sixty-six percent of Democrats approved, as did 43 percent of Independents.
Nearly three in four Americans also said they expected the air strikes to be effective on some level, although respondents’ confidence levels dipped in regard to the extent of the strikes’ predicted success: Just 20 percent of respondents said they thought the strikes would be “very effective” in protecting Libyan citizens, while 54 percent said they thought the actions would be “somewhat effective.” Eighteen percent said they thought the recent military actions in Libya would be not very – or not at all – effective.
More than four in five Americans say that what happens in Libya is important to the U.S., according to the survey, including 38 percent who said they considered it “very important.” Last month, 46 percent felt what was happening in Egypt was “very important” to the U.S.
CBS News notes that Americans have supported this kind of airstrike before. But history also shows that conflicts like this often enjoy initial support — which can wane if it appears there is a stalemate or if the conflict is not properly “sold” to the public. It is not yet a final political gut punch for Obama but could be if it drags on too long — or if it winds up with Gaddafi outlasting yet another American President who clashed with him.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.