Ethiopian Review

Washington (CNN) – Americans remain divided over support for the military operation in Libya, according to a new poll.

In the Pew Research Center survey released Monday, 47 percent of those surveyed think airstrikes were the right decision, 36 percent think they were the wrong decision and 17 percent did not know.

The division remains when broken down by political party. Fifty-four percent of Republicans, 49 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of independents said the airstrikes were the right decision.

When asked if the United States and its allies have a clear goal for the military action in the African country, 50 percent said no, 39 percent said yes and 11 percent did not know. Forty-one percent of Republicans, 48 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of independents said the troops have a clear goal.

Sixty percent of those surveyed said military involvement will last for some time compared with 33 percent who said action will end quickly and seven percent who did not know.

President Barack Obama plans to address the military mission in Libya at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday following a U.N. mandate for the U.S. and allied forces to enforce a no-fly zone and arms embargo in the country while taking other necessary steps to protect Libyan civilians.

Although the resolution did not include removing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from power, 46 percent of those surveyed said the U.S. and its allies should oust him while 43 percent said the action should focus on protecting the country’s citizens and 11 percent did not know.

The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted between March 24 and March 27 with a sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points for non-political questions and plus or minus seven percentage points for figures broken down by political party.

-- CNN