IRAQ - Bush Popularity Falls.

A series of polls taken over the last few weeks of August show that support for the war in Iraq among Americans is at an all-time low. Almost two-thirds of Americans in each of three major polls say they oppose the war, the highest totals since pollsters starting asking Americans the question in 2003. Many of the polls were conducted in advance of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on Washington and New York.

A new Associated Press/Ipsos poll which surveyed residents of Washington and New York, shows that many feel the cost in blood and money in Iraq may already be too high and that Osama bin Laden, leader of the neo-Salafi terrorist group al-Qaeda which was behind 9.11, will never be found. The poll showed that 60% of Americans believed the war in Iraq had increased the chances of a terrorist attack in the US.

The Christian Science Monitor on Sept. 1 quoted Robert Blendon, a specialist in public opinion at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, as saying: "I think there's a fatigue about the price of doing these activities. There's also a concern about the competency of how well we're doing them".

Some of the divisions are from political differences. For example, Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to think the cost of the terror fight may be too high and twice as likely to think Iraq is making terrorism worse. And this comes when the US has gone five years without an attack - possibly making the terror war seem less urgent to some.

Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a neo-con think tank, was on Sept. 1 quoted as saying: Popular support for the war on terror helped neutralize opposition to the Iraq war for a long time. Now the negative effect of Iraq is dragging down support for the war on terror". On the question of which political party can do a better job of protecting the US, both parties lost support since an April poll. But in another sign of trouble for the Bush administration, the AP/Ipsos poll showed that more Americans believed the Democrats will do a better job than Republicans, 47-40%.

A new CNN poll shows that only about one-third of Americans now support the war in Iraq; and 51% of Americans see President Bush as a strong leader, although he does not do well in other areas of the survey.

Most Americans (54%) do not consider him honest, most (54%) do not think he shares their values and most (58%) say he does not inspire confidence. Bush's stand on the issues is also problematic, with 57% of Americans saying they disagree with him on the issues they care about. That is an indication that issues, not personal characteristics, are keeping his approval rating well below 50%.

Bush dismissed a question about his popularity during a news conference on Aug. 28, saying: "I don't think you've ever heard me say: 'Gosh, I better change positions because the polls say this or that'. I've been here long enough to understand, you cannot make good decisions if you're trying to chase a poll. I'm going to do what I think is right, and if, you know, if people don't like me for it, that's just the way it is".

A Princeton Survey Research Associates International poll conducted on Aug. 24-25 for Newsweek shows that 63% of Americans disapprove of the way the president has handled Iraq.

A CBSNews/New York Times poll conducted on Aug. 17-21 shows that 65% of Americans disapprove of the way the president is dealing with Iraq. Among those who identified themselves as independents, 67% disapprove.

A survey by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute finds that 60% of Americans believe screening of people who look "Middle Eastern" at airports and train stations is OK. Quinnipiac's director of polling, Maurice Carroll, said he was surprised by the apparent public support for racial profiling, adding: "What's the motivation there - is it bigotry, or is it fear or is it practicality?".

The Quinnipiac poll also finds that Americans consider 9/11 of more significance than the attack on Pearl Harbour. But the findings vary considerably among age groups, with 9/11 being the most important event among those 35 and under, but with Pearl Harbour being more important among those 65 and older.

The Monitor quoted Bruce Schulman, a Boston University professor of history and American studies, as saying: "People have fresh memories of 9-11 and many don't have any memories at all of Pearl Harbor, and those who do don't have fresh memories of it. We also feel pretty confident that we know how the results of Pearl Harbor turned out, and we certainly don't know what the consequences of 9-11 are going to turn out to be".