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Insider Report: NewsMax Poll: Strong U.S. Support for Bombing Iran Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
An Internet poll sponsored by NewsMax.com reveals that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of the United States undertaking military action to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program. Nearly 60,000 people have taken part in the poll so far, and more than nine out of 10 say U.S. efforts to contain Iran's weapons program are not working. A large majority of respondents also believe that Iran poses a greater threat than Saddam Hussein did before the Iraq War. NewsMax will provide the results of this poll to major media and share them with radio talk-show hosts across the country.
Here are the poll questions and results:
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2) Should the United States rely solely on the U.N. to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?
3) Do you believe Iran poses a greater threat than Saddam Hussein did before the Iraq War?
4) Should the U.S. undertake military action against Iran to stop their program?
5) Who should undertake military action against Iran first?
2. Pentagon Increases Domestic Spying The 9/11 terrorist attacks have led the Pentagon to step up intelligence efforts inside the United States to protect military facilities and detect possible terrorist threats. But critics say the military has also used its intelligence gathering ability to spy on antiwar activists. After the attacks in 2001, the Bush administration declared the continental United States a theater of military operations - the first time that has happened since the Civil War. Now the Pentagon bureaucracy is building large databases of intelligence information from local police, military personnel and the Internet, The Wall Street Journal reports. "In doing so, the military is edging toward a sensitive area that has been off-limits to it since the 1970s: domestic surveillance and law enforcement," according to the Journal. The controversial warrantless wiretapping of calls in the United States by the National Security Agency part of the Defense Department is one element of the increased intelligence effort. To justify the gathering of domestic intelligence, the military distinguishes between "collecting " information and "receiving" it, maintaining that while it is for the most part barred from actively gathering information on American citizens, it is permitted to receive information from the police or federal agencies. According to the Journal, the Pentagon has gone beyond seeking to root out foreign terrorists in the United States and monitored more than 20 antiwar groups around the country over the past three years. In one case, it warned local police that an upcoming antiwar demonstration had a high probability of leading to violence between protesters and military supporters an alert that turned out to be unnecessary. The military's intelligence gathering program first came under fire in December when NBC News disclosed that the program had targeted protests by peace activists, including Quakers. And in early March, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, under questioning by the Senate Appropriations Committee, revealed that the Pentagon had gathered intelligence on two protests against military recruiters in Vermont. "Somewhere between government's legitimate security needs and the American people's right to privacy is a proper balance when it comes to the sensitive issue of the use of databases and data-mining," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "The rules that protect against abuse ... need to be followed." Polls show general support for heightened surveillance within U.S. borders, however. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in March, only 46 percent of those surveyed said they opposed the NSA's wiretaps. A series of laws enacted during the Vietnam War era resulting from the military's secret surveillance of dissidents pushed the military out of domestic spying. But the 9/11 Commission concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies needed to improve their ability to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts within our borders, the Journal notes, adding: "The Pentagon itself believed it might have prevented the attacks if its ability to operate within the U.S. were less circumscribed, and decided to take a fresh look at the post-Vietnam rules."
3. Charlie Cook Sees GOP Problems in '06 Elections Signs are pointing to a bumpy ride for Republicans in this year's midterm elections and voter turnout could turn out to be a major problem. That's the word from pundit Charlie Cook, writer of the "Off to the Races" column for the Washington, D.C.-based National Journal Group. Cook points to a new Cook Political Report/RT Strategies national survey of more than 1,000 adults, which found that 60 percent of Democrats said they were "most likely" to vote in November, compared to only 51 percent of Republicans. That amounts to a sharp departure from the last two elections, when Republicans turned out in higher numbers. "History tells us that when one party is either complacent or disillusioned, and the other party is highly motivated, agitated or angry, the results can be devastating to the former while providing boundless opportunities for the latter," Cook writes. RT Strategies also found that 49 percent of registered voters said they would like to see the Democrats in control of Congress after the elections, compared to 37 percent who favored Republicans. And when asked if they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress or the Republican, 50 percent of "most likely" voters said Democrat and 32 percent said Republican. The GOP faces not only serious misgivings among voters about the war in Iraq, but also "a combination of Social Security, mounting budget deficits, Hurricane Katrina, Harriet Miers, port security, immigration, gasoline prices and various scandals," according to Cook. President Bush is perceived as strong in the war on terrorism, but only 7 percent of respondents selected terrorism as the one issue that will matter most in deciding how to vote for the U.S. House in November. The poll also showed that only 25 percent of registered voters would definitely vote to re-elect their member of Congress, while 36 percent said they would consider voting for another candidate and 21 percent they would definitely vote for someone else an ominous finding for the incumbent party.
4. Fox News: Ratings Should Bring Bigger Payday Fox News Channel blew past CNN in the ratings more than four years ago, but it still lags its rival in the distribution fees paid by cable and satellite operators and Fox's parent News Corp. is out to change that. Fox News which marks its 10th anniversary this October is seeking to roughly triple the fees it charges cable and satellite operators, to $1 a month per subscriber from the 25 cents to 35 cents it now receives. CNN averages about 50 cents per subscriber, and MSNBC earns from 30 cents to 35 cents, the Wall Street Journal reports. But Fox News has a prime-time audience of about 1.5 million viewers this year, according to Nielsen Media Research, compared to CNN's prime-time audience of about 700,000 and MSNBC's average of 350,000.
"We're in the elite group," said Tim Carry, vice president of affiliate sales for Fox News. "We have a significant advantage over 90 percent of the industry, yet over the last 10 years we've been paid as if we're at the bottom." Last month Fox News began pitching its $1 per subscriber plan at an industry convention. The deal would run five years, beginning at $1 per subscriber and increasing by three cents a year for the next four years. Some industry insiders think the Fox proposal is unrealistic. Dan Mulvenon, vice president of the National Cable Television Cooperative, says the increase is "well beyond" the rate of inflation, and notes: "Is it fair and balanced? We've yet to decide on that." But Fox News executives believe they have the leverage to force a lucrative deal. "Fox News is banking that it is now one of the handful of channels which can play hardball with cable and satellite operators if negotiations stall," the Journal reports. "Fox News has rabid fans who would howl if it wasn't part of their basic cable package. Its mix of news and talk has struck a chord with conservative viewers."
5. U.S. Gives Bush's Schedule to Iran Given the tense relations between Iran and the United States you might say it would be difficult for the Iranians to get detailed information, in advance, of the comings and goings of President Bush. You'd be wrong. The fact is, the Iranian U.N. mission has been included on the list of those who receive daily press releases from the White House and the president's daily schedule, sometimes days in advance, NewsMax correspondent Stewart Stogel has found. For example, Iranian officials would have known ahead of time that on May 1, President Bush scheduled meetings at the White House, a speech in the Rose Garden, and then, at 1:05 p.m., a trip from the Executive Mansion to the Washington Hilton Hotel, arriving at 1:10 p.m. to deliver a speech on health care. Departure from the hotel was set at 2:10 p.m., and arrival back at the White House, at 2:15 p.m. Iranian access to this information is particularly questionable considering that Washington has charged certain personnel at the Iranian mission of "undiplomatic" conduct and expelled two members last year. FBI sources said the agency suspected them of scouting mass transit facilities in New York City for purposes the bureau would not discuss. Since 9/11, transit systems in London and Madrid have come under attack by radical groups allied with al-Qaida. Editor's Notes:
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