U.S. Attitudes: Unity and Strength

A modest majority of Americans favor the use of military force against Iran, either in an effort to rescue the embassy hostages or in retaliation against the Tehran government for putting them on trial. Yet an even larger majority oppose any such show of U.S. strength if the prisoners are released unharmed.

These are two of the conclusions from a survey of U.S. attitudes about the Iran crisis, conducted for TIME by the opinion research firm Yankelovich, Skelly and White, Inc. The telephone poll of 1,041 registered voters showed that 64% would support military action if that were the only way to get the hostages out unharmed; 63% would back a show of force if the hostages had been hurt or killed by their captors. Yet a markedly smaller number (39%) said they favored military action if the embassy prisoners were merely put on trial. Three-fourths of the voters polled said they opposed military action against Iran if the hostages were released; only 16% were in favor.

The poll documented the widespread view that Americans have united strongly behind the President in his efforts to free the hostages. In the survey, 66% rated Carter's handling of the crisis as "just right," while 27% felt that he had been "too soft," and only 1% thought he had been "too hard." The breakdown of support by party affiliation: 66% of Democrats, 58% of Republicans.

There was also a close correlation in the poll between what Carter has done and what Americans favor. Two-thirds of those polled agreed that permitting the Shah to enter the U.S. for medical treatment was the right thing to do. Only 25% were opposed. But in about the same numbers--61 % to 26%--voters rejected the idea of offering the Shah permanent asylum. Although the front-running G.O.P. presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan, urged that the Shah should be given asylum, Republicans (52%) as well as Democrats (64%) opposed that course. What if turning over the Shah to the Iranians were the only way to free the hostages? Some 62% said the deposed monarch should not be extradited in return for their release; only 29% said he should be sent to Iran.

Nearly three out of four Americans also disapproved of Senator Edward Kennedy's criticism of previous American policies in Iran and of the Shah, who, he said, "ran one of the most violent regimes in the history of mankind." Was it wrong for the U.S. Government to support "antidemocratic forces" when it seemed in the American interest to do so? Forty-nine percent answered no, 36% yes. Only one-fourth of those surveyed believed that Ayatullah Khomeini's accusations against the U.S. for supporting the Shah were justified.

The American people do not seem upset with the muted reaction of U.S. allies. When asked if they agreed that "the Iranian situation has shown the U.S. has no real friends in the world," 71% said they disagreed. A similar majority (72%) felt Washington's reaction to the crisis had proved to the world that we are "tough and ready to stand up for our beliefs." Nearly half (44%) felt that the U.S. handling of the situation had increased America's prestige abroad; 26% said that U.S. prestige had decreased, while 23% believed there had been "no difference." Nearly four-fifths of the voters agreed that the crisis had unified the country. As for the fate of the hostages, optimism narrowly prevailed: 55% believed that eventually they would be released unharmed.

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