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Support waning for Bush move on Iraq

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington Sept. 1. With the U.S. President, George W Bush, set to return to Washington after a month long "working vacation'' in Crawford, Texas, the White House is being reminded that support for sending American troops to oust Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq has fallen rapidly and with an overwhelming number of people of the view that this Republican administration must get Congressional authorisation before starting military action.

A latest CNN/Time poll shows that support for a military strike against Iraq is now only 51 per cent, down from 70 per cent last December; and opposition for the idea is up to 40 per cent from 22 per cent.

About 65 per cent of the Americans agree with the Bush administration that the United States would be morally justified in invading Iraq to remove Mr. Hussein from power; at the same time nearly 50 per cent believe that this military action would be long and costly before the United States could claim victory; and some 15 per cent taking the view that the United States would have to eventually get out of Iraq without a victory.

But what will be of interest to both the White House and sceptics of any military strike against Iraq is that close to 70 per cent of those polled said that the President needs to get authorisation from Congress, with only 28 per cent of the view that Mr. Bush can authorise the use of force without Congressional mandate.

The poll, conducted on August 28 and 29,finds support for the war only among the Conservatives with Liberals, senior citizens, college graduates and low income groups opposed to military action against Iraq. Interestingly, the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the leading hawks in the Bush administration have an approval rating of 51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively. By contrast, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, seen as one of those urging caution comes away with a highest popularity rating in the administration with 78 per cent, or higher than even the President who has a 69 per cent "favourable'' rating.

Mr. Bush is not the only one who will be back in town by the beginning of next week. The Senate is back from its Labour Day Recess on September 3 and the House of Representatives will return the next day.

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