The American people’s willingness to wait for military action in the wake of last month's attacks is running out, according to a poll published today.
A survey for Newsweekmagazine found 55 per cent of people are willing to wait "as long as necessary" for military strikes, a decline from 63 per cent the previous week.
And 24 per cent of the more than 1,000 Americans polled said military action should have already taken place, up from 18 per cent the previous week.
But backing for President George W Bush remains at record levels, with 88 per cent of people polled saying they approve of the way he is handling the situation.
The figure was virtually unchanged from the previous week, while 84 per cent of people game him their approval on all issues, a figure which is roughly 30 per cent higher than it was before the terrorists struck.
The poll came after a week of mounting military activity and a rapid tour of the Middle East and central Asia by American defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, raising expectations of action.
But it also revealed there is growing fear of more terrorist attacks on the United States. A total of 79 per cent of people polled said they believed another strike was likely.
The finding came after intelligence officials said there was a "100 per cent" likelihood of more attacks if or when America took action against suspected mastermind Osama bin laden and the Taliban.
PA