March 11, 2002

(AgapePress) - A new poll shows public support for President Bush and the war on terrorism remains incredibly high. But there seems to be increasing anti-American attitudes on some U.S. college campuses.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 90% of those surveyed continue to support the military action in Afghanistan -- the same as it was back in November. And most believe that winning the war is not just about getting Osama bin Laden, but rather putting a halt to the whole al-Qaida terrorist network.

According to a Washington Post analysis, the survey also shows people are behind the president's proposal to carry the war on terrorism to other countries. The majority also feel the U.S. is doing a good job to minimize the loss of American lives, but also recognize that casualties are part of any war.

Bush's overall job approval rating stands at 82%, unchanged from January.

In the midst of this, a new report from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says professors and administrators are to blame for the growing anti-American sentiment on the nation's college campuses. The report [PDF file] says in recent months, more than 140 college campuses in 36 states have held anti-war rallies to denounce U.S. military activity in Afghanistan.

The Council's document concludes many professors and administrators discourage patriotism and look down on students who question professors' "politically correct" views. It quotes a University of Massachusetts-Amherst physics professor as saying "[the American flag is] a symbol of terrorism and death and fear and destruction and oppression." And a history professor at the University of New Mexico is cited as saying "Anyone who can blow up the Pentagon gets my vote."

According to The Washington Times, the Council's reports gives a number of specific examples of where anti-American attitudes are being fostered, including a course at UCLA which, according to its description, examines "America's record of imperialistic adventurism."

Rick Parsons of the Young America's Foundation is not surprised by the left-wing attitudes of many professors. He says many of them were anti-war protesters in the 1960s and 1970s. As Parsons puts it: "They feel like America is to blame for everything."

Nuclear Terrrorism
Meanwhile, on this six-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, the threat of more deadly attacks is being examined by Congress. The possibility of terrorists sneaking a nuclear device into the nation and detonating it is getting plenty of attention. Dr. Dan Cobb of the Los Alamos Nuclear Research Facility in New Mexico says this threat has led to increased security at American borders.

"We don't have the security at the borders that we would like to have," Cobb says. "But the ability to develop detection capabilities to look for nuclear materials -- that's a focus for us to develop that capability, and it has been."

Cobb says there is also a threat of radiation poisoning through the use of contaminated materials. "If you think about these radiological materials, particularly of large sources, those also generate a lot of radiation that's detectable by these sensors," he says. "So in some sense, for free, we get some capability if we just deploy the systems that we're talking about today at these borders and chokepoints, looking for all the materials, including radiological."

Nuclear terrorism, once thought of lightly, is now being given special attention as America continues the struggle to recover from September 11.