Anxious Public Pulling Back From Use of Force

[cal04]

Public anxiety about America's place in the world has reached troubling levels, and not just on the war in Iraq. Over a winter dominated by debate over the "surge" in Iraq and a potential showdown with Iran, Public Agenda's Foreign Policy Anxiety Indicator increased seven points in six months. That puts the indicator at 137 on a 200-point scale, edging toward the 150 point mark that we would consider a crisis of confidence in government policy. The public's disenchantment is also leading to increased skepticism about the use of military force in general and a stronger inclination to diplomatic options in international affairs.

This desire for diplomacy is particularly apparent in public attitudes on the spread of nuclear weapons. As far as the vast majority of Americans are concerned, military force is "off the table" in dealing with Iran's nuclear program and its possible meddling in Iraq. There's also been a sharp drop in public confidence in military force as a tool for dealing with other countries developing weapons of mass destruction—even though controlling the spread of nuclear weapons is the public's top policy priority and one of its major fears.

Certainly the public's anguish and frustration over Iraq is a driving force in this questioning of U.S. policy. Multiple national surveys demonstrate attitudes on the war have turned sharply negative. But it would be a mistake to believe that public dissatisfaction with the Iraq war is confined to just the conduct of the war itself. The public's anxiety spills over into the entire range of challenges facing the United States in a dangerous world, leading them to question fundamental premises and to give the government poor grades on multiple fronts.

This is the fourth edition of Public Agenda's Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index, conducted in association with Foreign Affairs, America's most influential publication on international relations. The index, conducted every six months, uses more than 110 questions to track the average American's state of mind about foreign policy. Each edition seeks to find out what worries the public about the United States' place in the world, to grade the government on its efforts and to determine what they believe the nation's priorities should be.

http://www.publicagenda.org/foreignpolicy/index.cfm

[Jonathan50]

1. That's a good thing to see.

It's a serious indictment of America though that it took Guantanamo becoming the symbol of America around the world to get Americans to realize that.

[pigpickle]

2. kick