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Take No Sides in Mid-East, Say Americans
- Many adults in the United States want their federal government to remain neutral in the current Middle East conflict, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 65 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should not take either side.
On Jul. 12, Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two more in a cross-border attack. The Israeli armed forces launched air strikes inside Lebanese territory to fight Hezbollah, targeting the country's infrastructure and its airport. Hezbollah has retaliated by firing rockets into several Israeli towns.
The Lebanese Internal Security Forces have reported that 421 people have been killed and 1,661 have been injured. According to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), 52 Israelis—19 civilians and 33 soldiers—have died during the conflict. In addition, 1,233 Israelis have been wounded.
Yesterday in his weekly radio address, U.S. president George W. Bush declared, "As we work to resolve this current crisis, we must recognize that Lebanon is the latest flashpoint in a broader struggle between freedom and terror that is unfolding across the region. For decades, American policy sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by promoting stability in the Middle East, yet these policies gave us neither."
Polling Data
In the current conflict, do you think the United States should take Israel's side, take the side of Hezbollah, or not take either side?
Israel's side | 31% |
Hezbollah's side | * |
Not take either side | 65% |
No opinion | 4% |
* - Less than 0.5%
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,005 American adults, conducted from Jul. 21 to Jul. 23, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
