Support for military involvement in Libya has grown in the last week. This Economist/YouGov Poll was conducted after the United Nations Security Council voted to impose a no fly zone on Libya in order to protect Libyan citizens from the Gaddafi government. Most responses were collected after the Allied air strikes began on Saturday.
Now, 67% believe the international community should impose a no fly zone, up 21 points from last week. Even support for direct military intervention, which most Americans still oppose, doubled: last week 15% favored it, now 32% do. 6 in 10 Americans believe that the U.S. should participate in the UN-backed effort.
How should the international community respond to events in Libya? Please check all options that you support. Asked if respondent is aware of unrest in Libya
| March 19-22, 2011 | March 12-15, 2011 | |
|---|---|---|
Enforce sanctions | 60% | 53% |
Send humanitarian aid | 48% | 43% |
Evacuate refugess | 45% | 42% |
Intervene militarily | 32% | 15% |
Impose a "no-fly zone" over Libya | 67% | 46% |
None of these | 11% | 18% |
Republicans and Democrats both support the imposition of a no fly zone; about a third from each party are likely to favor additional military involvement.
There is still opposition to the United States directly helping rebels in Libya, although not as much as there was last week. Now, 29% favor U.S. help to the rebels, up 10 points from last week. But 46% think the U.S. should stay out.
Americans appear to support the actions President Obama has taken regarding Libya, and almost half approve of his overall handling of the situation. In this week’s poll, 47% approve of the way he is handling the situation in Libya, while 37% disapprove. He received similar approval ratings for his handling of the situation in the week before the UN authorized a no fly zone.
Obama wins less support from Democrats for his Libyan policy (67% support) than he does overall (74%). Among Republicans, the pattern is reversed: 26% approve of his Libyan policy, compared to only 11% approval overall. So the President seems to be getting some support on Libya from his opponents, while his normal supporters are wary.
Image source: flickr ( expertinfantry )
