Most want U.N. to OK Iraq war Poll: Most think al-Qaeda is bigger threat: With U.S. troops heading for the Persian Gulf, Americans say in overwhelming numbers that they oppose unilateral U.S. military action against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, according to a national Knight Ridder poll.

A robust majority of Americans - 83 percent - would support going to war if the United Nations backed the action and it was carried out by a multinational coalition. But without U.N. approval and allies, only about a third of the public would support a war with Iraq. The poll highlights the Bush administration's political and diplomatic quandary. Unambiguous evidence that Iraq has nuclear, biological or chemical weapons is a key requirement for the broad international support that Americans crave. Yet a majority of poll respondents, while convinced that Iraq harbors such weapons, said they doubted U.N. inspectors would find them. Many survey respondents said President Bush had not effectively explained why military action might be required. About 1 in 5 said they did not believe that Iraq posed a serious threat to the United States. "We have been given no compelling reasons for going to war," said Bill Quarton, 52, of Ann Arbor, Mich., who was among the poll respondents who said they were opposed to unilateral U.S. action against Iraq. "Our government acts as if it knows something terribly important and we should go ahead with this, but we haven't seen anything to substantiate it." The survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates questioned 1,204 American adults Jan. 3-6, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. * Arguments against war are much less compelling to Americans than the arguments in favor of military action. In particular, the arguments that war with Iraq will hurt the economy, damage relations with our allies or divert resources from tracking down those responsible for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, don't carry much weight. * Two-thirds of the respondents said they thought they had a good grasp of the issues surrounding the Iraqi crisis, but closer questioning revealed large gaps in that knowledge. For instance, half of those surveyed said one or more of the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackers were Iraqi citizens. In fact, none was. * The informed public is considerably less hawkish about war with Iraq. Those who show themselves to be most knowledgeable about the Iraq situation are significantly less likely to support military action. * Asked to rank the various threats facing the United States, more than twice as many respondents (49 percent of the total) chose al-Qaeda as the greatest peril as chose Iraq. A similar margin thinks that dealing with al-Qaeda should be the nation's top foreign-policy priority. With war possibly only weeks away and another crisis developing with North Korea, the survey found that Americans exhibit considerable uncertainty about world affairs.

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Graphic: Support for U.S. military action Would you support or oppose U.S. military action against Iraq in each of the following circumstances?

The United States joins together with its major allies to attack Iraq, with the full support of the United Nations Security Council. 13% Oppose 5% Don't know/didn't answer 83% Support

The United States and one or two of its major allies attack Iraq, without the support of the United Nations. 45% Oppose 9% Don't know/didn't answer 47% Support

The United States acts alone in attacking Iraq, without the support of the United Nations. 59% Oppose 7% Don't know/didn't answer 34% Support

Source: Princeton Survey Research Associates Jan. 3-6 survey of 1,204 adults for Knight Ridder newspapers; +/-3% margin of error Note: Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding c2003 KRT

Graphic: What Americans think about Iraq Talk of War

As far as you know, does Iraq have the following weapons? Nuclear weapons 36% Don't know/refused 24% No 41% Yes Chemical or biological weapons 29% Don't know/refused 9% No 62% Yes

Do you think Iraq is probably telling the truth and no longer has banned weapons, is probably hiding a few banned weapons or is probably hiding many banned weapons? Telling the truth 1% Don't know/didn't answer 7% Hiding many banned weapons 65% Hiding a few banned weapons 26%

If Iraq is hiding banned weapons, how likely do you think it is that the United Nations weapons inspectors there will be able to find them? Very likely 4% Somewhat likely 28% Not too likely 40% Not at all likely 25% Don't know/didn't answer 3%

Which do you think is the biggest threat to the security of the United States today? Al-Qaida 49% Iraq 21% North Korea 13% Iran 4% No group or country 6% Don't know/didn't answer 8%

Note: Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding Source: Princeton Survey Research Associates Jan. 3-6 survey of 1,204 adults for Knight Ridder newspapers; +/-3% margin of error c2003 KRT