Obama poll numbers soar after Operation Osama

The popularity of US President Barack Obama is soaring high as a result of the successful military operation in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, latest poll figures have said.

More than nine in 10 Americans approve of the US military action that killed bin Laden on Sunday, and 79 per cent say his killing is "extremely" or "very important" to the US, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll released today.

"Ninety-three per cent of Americans say they approve of the action that killed bin Laden. This is similar to the 90 per cent of Americans who in an October 7, 2001, poll approved of the US taking military action against Afghanistan," it said.

These approval levels are higher than the immediate reaction to the launching of either the first Persian Gulf War in 1991 or the Iraq war in 2003, for which approval was in the mid- to high 70 per cent range, the statement said.

When Americans are asked how much credit they would give to Obama, George W Bush, the CIA, and the US military for finding and killing bin Laden, the US military and the CIA emerge as the big winners in the public's eyes, USA Today/Gallup said.

Nearly nine of 10 (89 per cent) say the military deserves "a great deal of credit," while 62 per cent say the same about the CIA.

"Americans are more reserved in giving credit to President Obama. Thirty-five per cent say he deserves a great deal of credit and another 36 per cent say he deserves a moderate amount of credit. More than a quarter say he does not deserve much or any credit at all," the statement said.

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