By Reuters, 09/28/01

WASHINGTON -- Almost half of Americans are prepared to wait a month or more for military strikes on Afghanistan, where the prime suspect in attacks on U.S. landmarks, Osama bin Laden, is believed to be hiding, according to a poll released Friday.

Following the coordinated attacks Sept. 11 that left nearly 6,500 people missing or dead, four out of every five Americans also believe another attack on U.S. soil is either "very likely" or "somewhat likely" within a year, according to a TIME/CNN poll.

Despite some analysts' assertions that patience over retaliation was dwindling, 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to wait at least a month for a military strike on the landlocked Central Asian nation.

Twenty-seven percent of the 1,055 adults surveyed Thursday said they could be patient for more than three months, while 20 percent were prepared to wait between one and three months.

A further 18 percent said they wanted a strike within a few weeks. Only 9 percent wanted action within a few days.

The United States has massed troops, warplanes and aircraft carriers within striking distance of Afghanistan and demanded its Taliban rulers avert a U.S. attack by surrendering Saudi-born bin Laden and the leaders of his al Qaeda network.

Almost two-thirds of Americans believe such U.S. military action will make another strike on America more likely within a year.

If the United States does attack Afghanistan, most Americans -- 56 percent -- predict a long war with many casualties ending in a U.S. victory. Nearly one in four people -- 23 percent -- predict a quick victory with few casualties and only one in 10 respondents see a withdrawal without victory as the likely outcome.

The poll, which had a margin of error of three percentage points, also confirmed a firm trend of other surveys that President Bush has overwhelming support for the way he has handled the U.S. response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Bush has deployed troops around the globe, sought to form an international coalition in his war on terrorism and, after leading the nation in mourning, has rallied Americans to return to "business as usual."