A new poll released this week ^[1] by McLaughlin and Associates shows that Americans understand better than Congress that Iran is a serious a threat to our national security and is a dangerous actor amongst its neighbors.

According to Joel Rosenberg’s Weblog ^[2], the poll found:

• Nine in ten voters (91%) say that Iran supplying a nuclear umbrella for terrorists is a serious threat to the United States.
• Seven in ten voters (71%) say the United States will not be safe with a nuclear Iran.
• Eight in ten voters (80%) say it is likely that Iran will launch a missile attack on Israel.
• Three in four voters (77%) say it is likely that Iran will use the threat of nuclear attack to provide a shield for Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists to attack Israel.
• The majority of voters approve of taking several specific actions to discourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran.

If the White House is truly poll driven, then one can only hope it notices the overwhelming majority opinion of America when it comes to the need for a strong missile defense against a menacing Iran. So far, President Obama approved a 20% cut for missile defense and abandoned deploying missile defenses to western Europe.

That Iran doesn’t have nuclear capability at this very moment is beside the point. A team of U.S. and Russian scientists just released a report stating Iran would have such capability in as few as five years. In light of this Iran’s missile test-fire earlier this week, will President Obama take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Iran, or will he stand by his decision to give the rogue nation a year-end deadline?

For more information on Iran, please visit our Iran Briefing Room ^[3], and for more information on Missile Defense, please visit 33minutes.com ^[4].