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POLITICS

Support for Military Action in Libya Is Down to 24%

Voters remain skeptical about U.S. military involvement in Libya, with a plurality still opposed to further military action in the north African country.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 24% of Likely U.S. Voters now believe the United States should continue its military action in Libya. Forty-four percent (44%) oppose further action there, while 32% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

A month ago, 26% favored continued U.S. military operations in Libya, while 42% were opposed.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of voters rate the Obama administration’s handling of the situation in Libya as good or excellent. That’s unchanged from last month. Twenty-seven percent (27%) view the administration’s performance as poor. 

Positive marks for the administration’s response to events in Libya peaked at 43% in late March following the president’s televised address to the nation explaining his decision to commit U.S. military forces to the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

Only 24% of voters view Libya as a vital national security interest for the United States these days. Forty-seven percent (47%) disagree and say it’s not vital to U.S. national security. Twenty-nine percent (29%) are not sure. This parallels findings in April which marked a slippage in belief that Libya is a vital U.S. national security interest.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on July 10-11, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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