With President Obama set to address the nation tonight about the country’s military engagement in Libya, a Pew poll released today finds that half of Americans say the U.S. does not have a clear goal there.
In the poll of adult Americans, 50% of respondents said they do not believe that U.S. and allied forces have a clear goal with their mission in Libya, versus 39% who said there is a clear goal.
At the same time, the poll found that 47% of Americans think the decision to enforce a no-fly zone was a good idea, while 36% said it was a bad idea.
The U.S. and allied forces have been launching air and missile attacks on Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s military installments since March 19, one day after the U.N. Security Council approved a no-fly resolution over the country. Critics have argued that President Obama has not adequately explained what the U.S hopes to achieve by joining the assault, whether the goal is to protect civilians, or perhaps to oust Qaddafi.
Americans’ trepidation toward American involvement may be influenced by the country’s two other ongoing war’s in the region. In the poll, 60% of respondents said they thought the mission in Libya would last “for some time,” compared to only one third (33%) who thought it would end quickly.
Polls have shown Americans largely dissatisfied with the war in Afghanistan — which has lasted longer than any war in American history — and the war in Iraq. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released earlier this month found a record-high 64% of Americans thought the Afghan War had not been worth fighting.
The Pew poll was conducted March 24-27 among 1,002 American adults. It has a margin of error of 4.0%.
