http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=ECE979B4-C72C-470B-9D60-99CD6E5332CD Poll: Faith in U.S. military strength dips
By: Kevin Robillard
February 27, 2013 06:15 AM EST
Americans’ opinion of the country’s military strength is at a low point, with 50 percent saying the nation’s armed forces are indisputably the strongest in the world, according to a poll released Wednesday.
That represents a 14 percent drop from two years ago, when 64 percent of Americans told Gallup the U.S. military was clearly the world’s strongest. The 50 percent mark is the lowest in Gallup’s polling on the issue, which dates back to 1993. In Wednesday’s poll, 47 percent said the U.S. was just one of several military powers in the world, up from 34 percent in 2010.
The U.S. is responsible for about 40 percent of the world’s military spending, and spends around six times as much as its closest competitor, China.
Republicans are far more likely to believe it is important for the U.S. to be the world’s dominant military power, with 80 percent saying so. Only 62 percent of independents and 48 percent of Democrats believe the same. Overall, 62 percent of Americans said being the top force is important and 37 percent said it is not.
The poll of 1,015 adults was conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
