Thursday, March 03, 2005
Saudi ruler urges Syrian pullout
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah has advised Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon "rapidly", a Saudi official has said.
The prince said withdrawal would ease the international pressure on Syria and help defuse the Lebanese crisis.
He made the call on Thursday during a visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the kingdom for talks.
Syria invaded Lebanon in the 1975-90 civil war, but the troops stayed long after their mandate ended.
"Prince Abdullah advised President Assad to withdraw rapidly from Lebanon and to announce a timetable for the pullout to contain the Lebanese crisis and the international pressure on Syria," said a Saudi official.
SYRIA IN LEBANON Military intervention begins in 1976 30,000 troops in Lebanon during 1980s, currently 15,000 Syrian forces crucial in ending the Lebanese civil war in 1990 and maintaining peace Calls for departure of the Syrians increase gradually with Israeli withdrawal in 2000 UN resolution calling for withdrawal of all foreign forces passed in Sept 2004
"He added that Arab governments cannot resist this pressure unless Syrian troops are withdrawn."
In September 2004, Syria was ordered by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 to pull out from its smaller neighbour once and for all.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal discussed Syria at a meeting on Thursday.
"There must be a way to marry the Taif agreement with the provisions of 1559, keeping in mind the Syrian declaration of 21 February, flagging their intention to withdraw from Lebanon," Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad told reporters.
US allies
The 1989 accord that ended the civil war - which was signed in the Saudi city of Taif - stipulated that Syrian troops should pull back within two years, as a prelude to full withdrawal from Lebanon.
Mr Awad said the aim of Egyptian efforts was to help Syria cope with pressure for the implementation of the UN resolution, while meeting Lebanese unity and its wishes for independence.
Washington has spearheaded pressure on Syria to get it to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
Mr Assad told Time magazine in an interview published this week that he might withdraw troops in a few months.
Arab foreign ministers in Cairo have meanwhile urged Damascus to stick to its long-running commitment to withdraw from Lebanon.
"We have to contain, with all our capabilities, the existing big problems and to shift the current situation into a safer position," said Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa.
The Syrian and Lebanese foreign ministers did not attend the Cairo meeting.
Russia - Syria's main ally during the Cold War - and Germany have become the latest voices to call for Syria to leave Lebanon.
"Syria should withdraw from Lebanon, but we all have to make sure that this withdrawal does not violate the very fragile balance which we still have in Lebanon, which is a very difficult country ethnically," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the BBC.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says Mr Assad is feeling heat over the issue, while his regime's viability might even be questioned in Damascus if he "lost" Lebanon.
Pressure on Damascus spiked after the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri last month, who supported Syrian withdrawal. Syria has denied any part in his killing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4315917.stm
Published: 2005/03/03 21:58:18 GMT
© BBC MMV
March 3, 2005NEWS ANALYSIS
Syria Under Pressure: Worse Trouble May Lie AheadBy HASSAN M. FATTAH
EIRUT, Lebanon, March 2 - After decades of controlling Lebanon's political and economic life, Syria is facing the prospect of political and economic tumult as its hold over Lebanon grows weaker.
Under increasing pressure to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad is showing signs of a siege mentality, many opposition figures say. On Wednesday, President Bush, in his bluntest terms yet, insisted that Syria leave Lebanon.
In recent weeks, the Syrian government has cracked down on hard-won freedoms, censoring publications more heavily and increasing pressure on opposition figures. Last week, professors at some Syrian universities were given directives not to discuss subjects like Lebanon, the Kurdish minority or Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister who was assassinated in Beirut two weeks ago. And people in Damascus expect worse to come.
Like his father before him, Mr. Assad has tried to deal with his problems by closing ranks within his government while scrambling to buy time. Last week, for example, he announced that Syria would pull out of Lebanon, and in an interview with Time magazine published Tuesday, he said he expected the job to be done in a matter of months. But so far, many Syrians say, Mr. Assad has proved less adept than his father at playing political cat-and-mouse.
"We are in the corner now," said Youssef Marish, publisher of Al Mobky, a weekly review of culture whose most recent issue was blocked by Syrian censors for being too critical regarding current events. "The problem is that pressure will never stop, not even when we leave Lebanon."
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica published Monday, Mr. Assad said he thought that the United States might be preparing for military action against Syria. "Washington has imposed sanctions on us and isolated us in the past, but each time the circle hasn't closed around us," he said. "If, however, you ask me if I'm expecting an armed attack, well, I've seen it coming since the end of the war in Iraq."
A Syrian official subsequently denied that Mr. Assad had made the comments.
Mr. Bush, referring Wednesday to a joint news conference held Tuesday in London by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Michel Barnier of France, said, "I applauded the press conference she held with the foreign minister from France, where both of them stood up and said loud and clear to Syria, you get your troops and your secret services out of Lebanon so that good democracy has a chance to flourish."
The Damascus government's lose-lose choices are exemplified by conflicting reports over the weekend that Iraqi officials had credited Syria with help in handing over 30 members of Saddam Hussein's government, including Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, Mr. Hussein's half brother. Rather than seize the opportunity to appear to be cooperating with the Iraqi and American authorities, however, Syrian officials denied the reports, fearing that it would amount to an admission that Syria does in fact harbor Hussein loyalists. The Bush administration's contention that Syria has been aiding Iraq's insurgency is a primary source of cool relations between the nations.
"The circulation of such false news is part of the pressure campaign launched by the United States," said Ahmad al-Haj Ali, an adviser to Syria's Ministry of Information. "They want to say that Syria had always been harboring insurgents but never admitted it. And they want to say that pressure should therefore be kept on Syria."
Nonetheless, other Syrian officials emphasized that if Mr. Hassan had been seized in Syria, it could have happened only with the government's help.
"If they found Sabawi Ibrahim in Syria, they found him through the efforts of Syrian intelligence," said Muhammad Habash, a member of Syria's Parliament.
Lingering accusations that Syria was behind a terrorist suicide bombing in Tel Aviv late Friday night are proving even more damaging. Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the bombing, but six hours later, denied the initial claim, apparently under pressure from the government.
That only served to highlight the weakening grip Syria has over political groups and militias that it has supported and that in the past would have worked in close cooperation with the government. Instead, say opposition figures, many now appear to be pursuing their own interests.
"The problem is everything is being done against their will," Michel Kilo, a prominent Syrian opposition member, said of the government. "But politics as usual simply can't provide the diplomacy needed now."
Yet even as the government in Damascus shows signs of strain, years of one-party rule have left no viable opposition capable of filling its shoes.
For several years, Syria's leaders have looked to China as a model for survival, encouraging economic and judicial change in hopes of increasing economic growth, while avoiding political reform. But with the threat of more economic sanctions, that plan risks collapsing.
The fundamental problem, said Mr. Kilo, the opposition member, is that the government will not seek change unless it gets something in return. "They are open to reform only if they get international assurances that at the end of the reform, the regime will survive," he said.
But change, Mr. Kilo said, would ultimately mean the end of the government, and "they see that if they fix themselves, they will die."
Katherine Zoepf contributed reporting from Damascus for this article.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
Syria Under Pressure: Worse Trouble May Lie AheadBy HASSAN M. FATTAH
EIRUT, Lebanon, March 2 - After decades of controlling Lebanon's political and economic life, Syria is facing the prospect of political and economic tumult as its hold over Lebanon grows weaker.
Under increasing pressure to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad is showing signs of a siege mentality, many opposition figures say. On Wednesday, President Bush, in his bluntest terms yet, insisted that Syria leave Lebanon.
In recent weeks, the Syrian government has cracked down on hard-won freedoms, censoring publications more heavily and increasing pressure on opposition figures. Last week, professors at some Syrian universities were given directives not to discuss subjects like Lebanon, the Kurdish minority or Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister who was assassinated in Beirut two weeks ago. And people in Damascus expect worse to come.
Like his father before him, Mr. Assad has tried to deal with his problems by closing ranks within his government while scrambling to buy time. Last week, for example, he announced that Syria would pull out of Lebanon, and in an interview with Time magazine published Tuesday, he said he expected the job to be done in a matter of months. But so far, many Syrians say, Mr. Assad has proved less adept than his father at playing political cat-and-mouse.
"We are in the corner now," said Youssef Marish, publisher of Al Mobky, a weekly review of culture whose most recent issue was blocked by Syrian censors for being too critical regarding current events. "The problem is that pressure will never stop, not even when we leave Lebanon."
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica published Monday, Mr. Assad said he thought that the United States might be preparing for military action against Syria. "Washington has imposed sanctions on us and isolated us in the past, but each time the circle hasn't closed around us," he said. "If, however, you ask me if I'm expecting an armed attack, well, I've seen it coming since the end of the war in Iraq."
A Syrian official subsequently denied that Mr. Assad had made the comments.
Mr. Bush, referring Wednesday to a joint news conference held Tuesday in London by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Michel Barnier of France, said, "I applauded the press conference she held with the foreign minister from France, where both of them stood up and said loud and clear to Syria, you get your troops and your secret services out of Lebanon so that good democracy has a chance to flourish."
The Damascus government's lose-lose choices are exemplified by conflicting reports over the weekend that Iraqi officials had credited Syria with help in handing over 30 members of Saddam Hussein's government, including Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, Mr. Hussein's half brother. Rather than seize the opportunity to appear to be cooperating with the Iraqi and American authorities, however, Syrian officials denied the reports, fearing that it would amount to an admission that Syria does in fact harbor Hussein loyalists. The Bush administration's contention that Syria has been aiding Iraq's insurgency is a primary source of cool relations between the nations.
"The circulation of such false news is part of the pressure campaign launched by the United States," said Ahmad al-Haj Ali, an adviser to Syria's Ministry of Information. "They want to say that Syria had always been harboring insurgents but never admitted it. And they want to say that pressure should therefore be kept on Syria."
Nonetheless, other Syrian officials emphasized that if Mr. Hassan had been seized in Syria, it could have happened only with the government's help.
"If they found Sabawi Ibrahim in Syria, they found him through the efforts of Syrian intelligence," said Muhammad Habash, a member of Syria's Parliament.
Lingering accusations that Syria was behind a terrorist suicide bombing in Tel Aviv late Friday night are proving even more damaging. Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the bombing, but six hours later, denied the initial claim, apparently under pressure from the government.
That only served to highlight the weakening grip Syria has over political groups and militias that it has supported and that in the past would have worked in close cooperation with the government. Instead, say opposition figures, many now appear to be pursuing their own interests.
"The problem is everything is being done against their will," Michel Kilo, a prominent Syrian opposition member, said of the government. "But politics as usual simply can't provide the diplomacy needed now."
Yet even as the government in Damascus shows signs of strain, years of one-party rule have left no viable opposition capable of filling its shoes.
For several years, Syria's leaders have looked to China as a model for survival, encouraging economic and judicial change in hopes of increasing economic growth, while avoiding political reform. But with the threat of more economic sanctions, that plan risks collapsing.
The fundamental problem, said Mr. Kilo, the opposition member, is that the government will not seek change unless it gets something in return. "They are open to reform only if they get international assurances that at the end of the reform, the regime will survive," he said.
But change, Mr. Kilo said, would ultimately mean the end of the government, and "they see that if they fix themselves, they will die."
Katherine Zoepf contributed reporting from Damascus for this article.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
New Online Magazine Urges Jihad in Iraq
28 minutes ago
By RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A new online magazine purportedly posted by al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq (news - web sites) has launched an effort to recruit Muslims to rid Iraq of infidels and apostates — its names for Americans and their Iraqi partners.
The colorful, well-designed magazine is named Zurwat al-Sanam, Arabic for "The Tip of the Camel's Hump" — a reference among Islamic militants to "the epitome of belief and virtuous activity."
The inaugural 43-page issue was posted two days after al-Qaida in Iraq, the group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for an attack Monday against police and army recruits that killed 125 people in Hillah, just south of Baghdad.
The group has also said it was behind car bombings and attacks that killed 14 police officers Wednesday. Al-Zarqawi's organization has been blamed for many of the bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.
Washington-based counterterrorism expert Evan Kohlmann told The Associated Press the magazine aims at "conveying the sense that the organization is professional, capable and really understands what they're doing."
It was designed as "an attempt to refute the idea that al-Zarqawi and these people are desperate. ... It shows that these people have time on their hands and don't have to worry about mobility."
Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the designated "media coordinator" for al-Zarqawi's group, posted the magazine on the Internet late Wednesday.
Saved as an attachment, it has appeared on at least two extremist Islamic Web sites that have previously posted al-Qaida statements and claims of responsibility.
Mainly a rehash of letters, tracts and texts that have previously appeared on the Internet, the magazine includes a vow of fealty from al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and a pledge to keep fighting.
It also includes excerpts from a bin Laden letter commending al-Zarqawi's fighters. The letter appears to be a patchwork of past speeches made by bin Laden.
Al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to bin Laden last year in a letter posted on the Internet. In an audiotape aired later on the Al-Jazeera television network, bin Laden endorsed al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq.
The letter from bin Laden appearing in the magazine refers to al-Zarqawi as the "emir" of al-Qaida in Iraq and calls on people to "obey him."
"There's a great difference between the sincere mujahedeen emirs who give up leadership for the sake of their religion and nation, and the region's kings and presidents, who refuse to unite the nation and scrap borders drawn by the crusaders," bin Laden writes.
The cover includes Al-Qaida in Iraq's logo of an AK-47 standing in an open Quran, with a globe in the background and an arm and finger pointed upward. It also has pictures of President Bush (news - web sites), bin Laden, and Abu Anas al-Shami — the late spiritual leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The magazine includes a profile of al-Shami, who was killed in a September airstrike in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib. Al-Shami, a Palestinian, was a close aide to al-Zarqawi.
It says "enlightening Muslims and calling upon the people to follow the faith and way of Sunnis" was its main goal. Dated February 2005, it promised to be the first of many issues.
Elsewhere, al-Zarqawi's spokesman Abu Maysara defines al-Qaida in Iraq as "a group of Sunnis" seeking "to regain all the lands of Muslims from the hands of the infidels and the apostates."
Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population but were favored under Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime, have been prominent in the insurgency, which began with the U.S. occupation and has persisted through the election of a Shiite-dominated government.
The group's "edict committee" also condemns democracy and elections as "Western" and "un-Islamic" concepts.
"Democracy and parliaments, my brothers, are from the religion and desires of the infidels," the article says. "Democracy means the rule of the people ... which means that who is to be obeyed and worshipped is man, not God."
Abu Maysara calls on all Arabs to heed the call of jihad — or holy war.
Similar online magazines have appeared in the past, including the widely circulated "Sawt al-Jihad," issued by al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia, and "Al-Khansaa" aimed mostly at women.
The authenticity of such magazines is hard to verify.
Experts said many of the new magazine's articles appeared to conform with bin Laden and al-Qaida ideology.
Cairo-based Islamic expert Mohamed Salah said it appeared credible because of "the language and production" involved.
"Experience has shown that they (militants) have become very qualified in using the Internet," Salah said. "They seem to be waging an online war and they seem to be winning it."
According to Kohlmann, the counterterrorism expert, the magazine is an indication that the group is trying to improve its recruitment efforts.
"This is more real propaganda than the regular statements on the (online) forums. They graduated into a new world of propaganda," he said.
28 minutes ago
By RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A new online magazine purportedly posted by al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq (news - web sites) has launched an effort to recruit Muslims to rid Iraq of infidels and apostates — its names for Americans and their Iraqi partners.
The colorful, well-designed magazine is named Zurwat al-Sanam, Arabic for "The Tip of the Camel's Hump" — a reference among Islamic militants to "the epitome of belief and virtuous activity."
The inaugural 43-page issue was posted two days after al-Qaida in Iraq, the group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for an attack Monday against police and army recruits that killed 125 people in Hillah, just south of Baghdad.
The group has also said it was behind car bombings and attacks that killed 14 police officers Wednesday. Al-Zarqawi's organization has been blamed for many of the bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.
Washington-based counterterrorism expert Evan Kohlmann told The Associated Press the magazine aims at "conveying the sense that the organization is professional, capable and really understands what they're doing."
It was designed as "an attempt to refute the idea that al-Zarqawi and these people are desperate. ... It shows that these people have time on their hands and don't have to worry about mobility."
Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the designated "media coordinator" for al-Zarqawi's group, posted the magazine on the Internet late Wednesday.
Saved as an attachment, it has appeared on at least two extremist Islamic Web sites that have previously posted al-Qaida statements and claims of responsibility.
Mainly a rehash of letters, tracts and texts that have previously appeared on the Internet, the magazine includes a vow of fealty from al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and a pledge to keep fighting.
It also includes excerpts from a bin Laden letter commending al-Zarqawi's fighters. The letter appears to be a patchwork of past speeches made by bin Laden.
Al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to bin Laden last year in a letter posted on the Internet. In an audiotape aired later on the Al-Jazeera television network, bin Laden endorsed al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq.
The letter from bin Laden appearing in the magazine refers to al-Zarqawi as the "emir" of al-Qaida in Iraq and calls on people to "obey him."
"There's a great difference between the sincere mujahedeen emirs who give up leadership for the sake of their religion and nation, and the region's kings and presidents, who refuse to unite the nation and scrap borders drawn by the crusaders," bin Laden writes.
The cover includes Al-Qaida in Iraq's logo of an AK-47 standing in an open Quran, with a globe in the background and an arm and finger pointed upward. It also has pictures of President Bush (news - web sites), bin Laden, and Abu Anas al-Shami — the late spiritual leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The magazine includes a profile of al-Shami, who was killed in a September airstrike in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib. Al-Shami, a Palestinian, was a close aide to al-Zarqawi.
It says "enlightening Muslims and calling upon the people to follow the faith and way of Sunnis" was its main goal. Dated February 2005, it promised to be the first of many issues.
Elsewhere, al-Zarqawi's spokesman Abu Maysara defines al-Qaida in Iraq as "a group of Sunnis" seeking "to regain all the lands of Muslims from the hands of the infidels and the apostates."
Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population but were favored under Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime, have been prominent in the insurgency, which began with the U.S. occupation and has persisted through the election of a Shiite-dominated government.
The group's "edict committee" also condemns democracy and elections as "Western" and "un-Islamic" concepts.
"Democracy and parliaments, my brothers, are from the religion and desires of the infidels," the article says. "Democracy means the rule of the people ... which means that who is to be obeyed and worshipped is man, not God."
Abu Maysara calls on all Arabs to heed the call of jihad — or holy war.
Similar online magazines have appeared in the past, including the widely circulated "Sawt al-Jihad," issued by al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia, and "Al-Khansaa" aimed mostly at women.
The authenticity of such magazines is hard to verify.
Experts said many of the new magazine's articles appeared to conform with bin Laden and al-Qaida ideology.
Cairo-based Islamic expert Mohamed Salah said it appeared credible because of "the language and production" involved.
"Experience has shown that they (militants) have become very qualified in using the Internet," Salah said. "They seem to be waging an online war and they seem to be winning it."
According to Kohlmann, the counterterrorism expert, the magazine is an indication that the group is trying to improve its recruitment efforts.
"This is more real propaganda than the regular statements on the (online) forums. They graduated into a new world of propaganda," he said.
March 3, 2005
New Poll Finds Bush Priorities Are Out of Step With AmericansBy ADAM NAGOURNEY and JANET ELDER
Americans say President Bush does not share the priorities of most of the country on either domestic or foreign issues, are increasingly resistant to his proposal to revamp Social Security and say they are uneasy with Mr. Bush's ability to make the right decisions about the retirement program, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
The poll underscores just how little headway Mr. Bush has made in his effort to build popular support as his proposal for overhauling Social Security struggles to gain footing in Congress. At the same time, there has been an increase in respondents who say that efforts to restore order in Iraq are going well, even as an overwhelming number of Americans say Mr. Bush has no clear plan for getting out of Iraq.
On Social Security, 51 percent said permitting individuals to invest part of their Social Security taxes in private accounts, the centerpiece of Mr. Bush's plan, was a bad idea, even as a majority said they agreed with Mr. Bush that the program would become insolvent near the middle of the century if nothing was done. The number who thought private accounts were a bad idea jumped to 69 percent if respondents were told that the private accounts would result in a reduction in guaranteed benefits. And 45 percent said Mr. Bush's private account plan would actually weaken the economic underpinnings of the nation's retirement system.
In a sign of the political obstacles confronting the White House, a majority of those surveyed said they would support raising the amount of income subject to Social Security payroll tax above its current ceiling of $90,000, an idea floated by Mr. Bush but shot down by Republican Congressional leaders. Yet there is strong resistance to other options available to Mr. Bush and lawmakers to repair the system, in particular to raising the retirement age or making participation voluntary.
Notwithstanding Mr. Bush's argument that citizens should be given more control over their retirement savings, almost four out of five respondents said it was the government's responsibility to assure a decent standard of living for the elderly.
The poll was the first conducted by The Times and CBS News since the president's inauguration. It comes after six hectic weeks for the administration, in which Mr. Bush has witnessed successful elections in Iraq - which he hailed as validation of his decision to remove Saddam Hussein - but also the toughest period he has encountered on Capitol Hill, as he has struggled to win support for the signature proposal of his second term.
In an apparent reflection of the success of the Iraq elections, 53 percent of those surveyed said that efforts to bring order to Iraq were going very or somewhat well, up from 41 percent a month ago. That is the highest rating on that score since the capture of Mr. Hussein.
Still, 42 percent now say that Mr. Bush would have been better off trying to counter the threat of North Korea before invading Iraq, compared with 45 percent who think Mr. Bush was correct to focus first on Iraq.
More broadly, the poll suggests that Mr. Bush is in a problematic position as he enters a second term intent on pushing an extraordinarily assertive agenda through Congress.
Four months after Mr. Bush won a solid re-election over Senator John Kerry, 63 percent of respondents say the president has different priorities on domestic issues than most Americans. Asked to choose among five domestic issues facing the country, respondents rated Social Security third, behind jobs and health care. And nearly 50 percent said Democrats were more likely to make the right decisions about Social Security, compared with 31 percent who said the same thing about Republicans.
"There are so many other things that seem to me to be more critical and immediate: I think the national debt is absolutely an immediate thing to address," said Irv Packer, 66, a Missouri Republican. He added, "Another one that I'd really like to see people working on is the environment."
Lisa Delaune, 37, a student from Houston and a member of the Green Party, said in a follow-up interview, "My opinion is that the president favors big business over the health and well-being and overall stability of the entire American population."
And Mr. Bush does not appear to be much more in step with the nation on what the White House has long viewed as his strong suit: 58 percent of respondents said the White House did not share the foreign affairs priorities of most Americans.
For all that, Mr. Bush's approval rating remains unchanged, at 49 percent, from a month ago, suggesting that the disagreement with Mr. Bush's ideas has yet to take a toll on America's view of him.
The poll was conducted by telephone with 1,111 adults from Thursday through Monday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
If Americans are ambivalent about the need for Washington to grapple with Social Security, the poll found abundant concern with the budget deficit, with much of the blame attributed to Mr. Bush. Sixty percent of respondents - including 48 percent of self-described conservatives - said they disapproved of how Mr. Bush was managing the deficit. And 90 percent of respondents described the deficit as a very or somewhat serious problem.
The focus on Social Security has, if anything, aggravated concern about the deficit. About 30 percent said that the cost of Mr. Bush's proposal to create private accounts would increase the deficit. And on another question, about 40 percent said that Mr. Bush's budget proposal, made last month, would also result in increasing the deficit, notwithstanding the deep cuts Mr. Bush proposed to try to pull back the deficit.
The poll underlines the difficulty of the task Mr. Bush faces in trying to overhaul Social Security, given that the heart of the White House strategy has been to sell the public on the need for repairing the system, in the calculation that would corral Congress behind Mr. Bush. So far, at least, the evidence suggests that campaign has not succeeded.
Indeed, the percentage of respondents who think it is a good idea to permit people to invest in private accounts is as low as it has been since the question was first asked in May 2000.
"I don't think he's listening to the people concerning Social Security," said Beverly Workman, a West Virginia Democrat who said she voted for Mr. Bush. "I think the public wants him to leave it alone."
Jim Choi, 34, an unemployed biotechnology worker from California, said: "The way the system is set up, it's not going to go bankrupt. People will get by; we all adapt."
Still, Mr. Bush's argument that the system is approaching bankruptcy - a contention disputed by Democrats and independent analysts - seems to be taking hold. Two-thirds of respondents say the system will be bankrupt by 2042 if nothing is done to repair it. Sixty-one percent said the program has worked well until now, but the next generation will need a different kind of program to assure that they receive benefits.
And 55 percent said the problems with Social Security were serious enough that they should be fixed now, compared to 35 percent who said they did not need to be addressed for another 10 or 15 years.
The elections in Iraq have contributed to some improvement in the perception of Mr. Bush's policy there, though it remains far from popular. In this poll, 50 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of his Iraq policy, down from 55 percent a month ago, while 45 percent approved, up from 40 percent.
On North Korea, 81 percent said that that nation does indeed now have nuclear weapons, and 7 in 10 said it poses a serious threat to the United States. Still, a majority of Americans said they opposed taking pre-emptive action against North Korea if diplomatic efforts failed - a shift from before the war in Iraq, when a majority said they would support military action if diplomatic efforts failed.
Fred Backus contributed reporting for this article.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
