Poll: Most Americans think a nuclear strike is likely
By Associated Press
Published March 31, 2005
WASHINGTON - Though the Soviet Union is gone, the nuclear fears that fueled the Cold War haven't disappeared. Most Americans think nuclear weapons are so dangerous no country should have them, and a majority think it's likely terrorists or a nation will use them within five years.
The Bush administration warns about nuclear weapons and is using diplomacy - and force - to try to limit the threat.
Still, North Korea says it has nuclear weapons now and is making more. Iran is believed to be within five years of developing such weapons. And security for the nuclear material scattered across the old Soviet Union remains a concern.
In the background is the threat that worries U.S. officials the most - terrorists' desire to acquire nuclear weapons.
All that helps explain why 52 percent of Americans think a nuclear attack by one country against another is somewhat or very likely by 2010, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. And 53 percent think a nuclear attack by terrorists is somewhat likely.
Two-thirds of Americans say no nation should have nuclear weapons, including the United States, and most of the others say no more countries should get them.
The AP-Ipsos poll found 44 percent of those surveyed said they frequently or occasionally worry about a terrorist attack using nuclear weapons, while 55 percent said they rarely or never do.
"Terrorists are more likely to use a nuclear weapon because they are unpredictable," said John Saint of Syracuse, N.Y.
Fears about the use of a nuclear weapon are pretty evenly spread across all age groups. But a generational divide emerges when Americans are asked whether they approve of the United States' decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.
Six in 10 Americans 65 and older approve of the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II, while six in 10 from 18 to 29 disapprove.
