Polls Show Americans Opposed to War With North Korea

Despite the rhetoric from Barack Obama about committing US soldiers to a potential war in Korea, and despite the offer of the US Air Force to help South Korea should they start bombing the North, most Americans are opposed to the idea of a new Korean War.

According to a new Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll, 56 percent of Americans are opposed to unilateral military action in the highly unlikely event of a North Korean invasion of the South. The poll also showed that most Americans are against the US taking it upon itself to "punish" North Korea.

When the South Korean Navy ship called The Cheonan sank earlier this year, polls showed that only 27 percent of Americans wanted their country to help retaliate against North Korea.

Also according to the Chicago Council, only 27 percent of Americans felt it was very important to prevent China from supposedly "dominating" the Korean Peninsula.

The polls also showed growing opposition to the United States having bases overseas. Only 50 percent of Americans support having bases in Iraq, which is a decrease of seven percent since 2008. Support for bases in Afghanistan is now at 52 percent, which is a decrease of five percent.