Public sees new global role for US

That view is also reflected in a recent survey by the Pew Research Center and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which found that most Americans agree the US should "take into account the views of allies" instead of acting unilaterally. In a commentary on the poll, CFR's Kenneth Pollack said the results suggest "considerable freedom of action" for the Bush administration in its diplomatic activities. But he also sees a public "ready to accept that the US may have to make compromises on other policy issues to attain the support we need in the war on terrorism."

Some analysts conclude that the rise in support for international engagement reflects primarily the public's desire for security and faith in the US military's ability to deliver a safer world.

Kull concurs that national security has jumped to the forefront of concerns after Sept. 11, but he says the public still shows interest in such goals as reducing poverty and promoting democracy around the world - but now more than ever as a way of enhancing long-term global security. "It's not that Americans' values have changed," he says. "It's more that the focus is different."

For example, the PIPA poll found even higher support for building "good will" toward America through food and medical aid (86 percent) than the record high support for US engagement in general.

Sensing this support for international involvement, some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are calling on Mr. Bush to boost US spending on international affairs in his next budget. The leaders note that US spending for international affairs has fallen by about one-third since the mid-1980s. .

"The idea is that in addition to defense and national security, we need to enhance the other ways America engages the world," says Joe Sheffo, spokesman for Sen. Gordon Smith (R) of Oregon, who coauthored a letter to Bush in favor of higher international spending. In Oregon, he says, "There's a concentration of religious and human rights organizations - plus a private sector, especially a lot of high-tech companies - that all have a strong interest in international engagement."

Proponents of more spending on international affairs acknowledge they face skepticism from a public that considers too much is spent inefficiently or lost to corrupt foreign officials. Liz Schrayer of US Global Leadership, a consortium of private firms and charities supporting a higher international-affairs budget, says the public has a misconception about what the government already spends.

"They typically think the US spends about 15 percent of the budget on foreign aid and other international issues, and they say 5 percent would be about right," she says. "The reality is that it's about 1 percent."

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