Concerns over war rise, poll says

WASHINGTON -- Public worries about the economy have dropped since last summer, while fears about terrorism and war have been on the rise, an Associated Press poll suggests.

When asked in an open-ended question in July to name the most important problems facing the United States, 9 percent mentioned war. The number almost doubled to 17 percent in an AP-Ipsos poll taken early this month. The number of people who named terrorism has grown from 14 percent to 21 percent now.

The poll offers a glimpse of the nation's leading concerns as the presidential campaign intensifies between President Bush, who has posted stronger poll numbers on national security, and Democrat John Kerry, whom the public views as stronger on economic issues.

In July, US troops had recently completed their conquest of Iraq's armed forces and were at work rebuilding the nation. In recent weeks, US troops have been under increased attacks by insurgents, both from the Sunni and Shi'ite populations.

US troops have killed about 700 insurgents across Iraq since the beginning of the month. At least 78 coalition troops -- almost all Americans -- have died in clashes during that time.

In the poll, pocketbook issues such as the economy and jobs were named by 37 percent, down from 47 percent in July. A smaller percentage of people specifically ranked ''the economy" as the top problem than in July, with the number dropping steeply from 31 percent to 18 percent now, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs.

Jean Hart, a 52-year-old telecommunications worker from Albany, N.Y., says her views on the country's top problems have shifted sharply from last fall when she was laid off and left without health care. Now, she's working again, but she pays more than $1,000 a month for her health care. Yet she ranks the war in Iraq as her top concern.

''Definitely the war," she said. ''I don't know whether we're getting the full story of why we got in there. It's almost like started by the father" of President Bush.

She said the war struck close to home when one of her co-workers learned recently that fighting in Iraq had claimed his son, the father of three small children.

Health care has dropped slightly as one of the top concerns. Nineteen percent ranked it as a top problem in January, but the number has since slipped to 14 percent.

About one in 20 people mentioned the ''energy crisis," particularly gasoline prices. Last summer, neither energy nor gas prices were on people's minds as a top problem. One in 10 mentioned the energy crisis as one of the nation's top concerns, triple the number who said that last summer.

The biggest change in the AP-Ipsos poll's survey was the increased war concern. Ten percent specifically mentioned the ''war in Iraq" -- compared with 2 percent who named the war as the top problem last summer.

Noreen Hunt, a contracts manager in San Diego, said war in Iraq was the top problem because ''it's killing people."

''It's becoming more of a problem, because it's not getting resolved," she said. ''It looks like Vietnam all over again."

Among those who said war was the top problem, two in 10 said the country is headed down the wrong track. Half that many said the country is headed in the right direction.

The poll of 1,001 adults was taken April 5-7 and has a margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points.