WHAT lessons have the American people learned from the war in Viet Nam? In light of that chastening experience, how do Americans appraise the nation's military commitments around the world? How willing are Americans to have the U.S. intervene in other, future conflicts? Pollster Louis Harris and a task force of interviewers surveyed for TIME a representative sample of Americans. Harris' poll reveals widespread skepticism about the uses of military power—including strong doubt about what the U.S. should do to counter irritating jabs from an increasingly pugnacious North Korea.
If North Korea continues...