MIDDLE EAST TIMES
Published: August 28, 2008

The drums of war are beating louder, amplified by Iran’s pursuit of its nuclear agenda and the West and Israel’s determination not to let it do so. Continuing rhetoric by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad about “wiping Israel off the map” does little to help. Meanwhile, the U.S. administration wants to see Tehran’s uranium enrichment issue resolved before January 2009, when the next administration is sworn in. The clock is ticking.
As late as Wednesday U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney repeated what President George W. Bush has said numerous times: “All option remain on the table.” Meaning, military intervention remains a possibility.
As the U.S. presidential elections heads into the final stretch, rarely has foreign policy occupied such a prominent role in American politics.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and Iran were consistent topics of debate for the candidates and of worry for the voters; as is terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Despite the number of growing problems at home — unemployment, the rising cost of health care, gasoline prices that have more than tripled, a housing crisis brought about by the sub-prime mortgage fiasco — an unusually high segment of the American electorate remain just as concerned by developments overseas.
A new poll release Thursday finds that 63 percent of U.S. voters are in favor of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails. And 87 percent believe that if Iran were to develop nuclear weapons, it would pose a direct threat to the security of the United States; 85 percent of Democrats and 97 percent of Republicans believe Iran represents a serious threat to them.
However, 62 percent think there is still hope for diplomacy, although 90 percent fear that the Islamic Republic would share its nuclear technology with terrorist organizations.
According to the same poll, 81 percent of respondents are in favor of the international community sharing the burden of trying to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. And if military intervention became a reality, 55 percent would approve of the United States and its allies carrying out “targeted strikes” against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Another 63 percent think that Israel should target Iran if it fails to listen to abide by the international community’s request.
As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 69 percent say the United States should support Israel, while only a meager 6 percent say the U.S. should support the Palestinians.
The bi-partisan poll, conducted by telephone between July 23-27 by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research surveyed 800 U.S. voters.
A total of 91 percent of American voters agree Iran poses a threat to Israel; the numbers jump even higher — to 96 percent — when respondents were asked whether a nuclear-armed Iran poses a threat to Israel.
“The nuclear clock is ticking faster than the diplomatic clock and time is running out,” said Jennifer Lazlo Mizrahi, president of The Israel Project, who commissioned the poll.