Americans Oppose a military strike

1) Only one in four Americans favors Israel conducting a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, according to a new poll, the Program on International Policy Attitudes reports. Seven in ten (69%) favor the US and other major powers continuing to pursue negotiations with Iran, a position that is supported by majorities of Republicans (58%), Democrats (79%) and Independents (67%).

If Israel goes ahead with a military strike against Iran's nuclear program and Iran retaliates, but not against American targets, only 25% favor the US providing military forces if Israel requests them (though support is a bit higher among Republicans at 41%. Another 14% favors the US providing diplomatic support only. Few would support open opposition. The most popular position is for the US to take a neutral stance, which is supported by 49%.

2) Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are now calling for a reassessment of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, suggesting that it may be time to withdraw troops sooner than the Obama administration has planned, the New York Times reports. Republicans are now evenly split over whether the war in Afghanistan has been "worth fighting," according to a new poll by ABC News and The Washington Post, the Times notes.

3) The Obama administration is discussing whether to reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan by at least an additional 20,000 troops by 2013, reflecting a growing belief within the White House that the mission there has now reached the point of diminishing returns, the New York Times reports. A plan backed by Thomas Donilon, the national security adviser, would be to announce that at least 10,000 more troops would come home by the end of December, and then 10,000 to 20,000 more by June 2013. Vice President Biden Jr. has been pushing for a bigger withdrawal that would reduce the bulk of the troops around the same time the mission shifts to a support role. Military commanders, meanwhile, want to maintain troops in Afghanistan as long as possible.

4) Administration officials said they would pick an American to head the World Bank, the New York Times reports. Officials in the Group of 20 said American officials informed them recently of their intention to "retain control of the bank" [that's how the New York Times put it - JFP.] Possible contenders include Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN; Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo; and Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary, the Times says.

5) Two U.N. soldiers from Pakistan have been sentenced to a year in prison for raping a 14-year-old Haitian boy after being convicted in a Pakistani military trial in Haiti, Reuters reports. It was the first time that members of the U.N. military on deployment in Haiti have been tried and sentenced within its borders. The U.N. military mission has faced a growing image problem in Haiti, with some of its members accused of responsibility for introducing a deadly cholera epidemic, Reuters notes.

Several UN soldiers have also been accused of rape, in addition to the Pakistanis, in cases that have fueled public protests and demands that members of the U.N. force be stripped of their immunity and face trial in Haitian courts. Haitian government authorities said were given no advance notice of the Pakistani military tribunal.

6) Rising gasoline prices are driving down Obama's poll numbers to parity with Republicans, the Washington Post reports. [Since the threat of war and sanctions on Iran are a key contributor to higher gas prices, this is something liberal Democrats might wish to consider - JFP.]