Seymour Hersh writing in The New Yorker notes that a Gallup poll taken last November found that 73 percent of those surveyed thought that the United States should use economic action and diplomacy to stop Iran’s nuclear program, while only 18 percent favored direct military action.
Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats to endorse a military strike.
Weariness with the war in Iraq has undoubtedly affected the public’s willingness to attack Iran.
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However, this mood could change quickly. The potential for escalation became clear in early January, when five Iranian patrol boats, believed to be under the command of the Revolutionary Guard, made a series of aggressive moves toward three Navy warships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
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