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NEWS ANALYSIS

After Flagging Support, a Second Wind for Bush

By Doyle McManus, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The bombs exploded in London, but the repercussions are still rippling across Washington.

A surge in public concern about terrorism means a probable boost in support for President Bush and the war in Iraq.
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"The bombings will give both Bush and [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair a boost," said Christopher Gelpi, a political scientist at Duke University who studies public opinion in times of war. "I think the attacks may help slow the ebbing of [public] support over Iraq, because the bombings make [Bush's] point about linking Iraq and terrorism."

Bush wasted no time in citing the London attack to support his central argument for U.S. military operations in Iraq. In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president said the bombings were part of a single terrorist offensive that included the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon as well as this year's attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq.

"We are now waging a global war on terror, from the mountains of Afghanistan … to the plains of Iraq," Bush said. "We will stay on the offense, fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them at home."


--Los Angeles Times