WASHINGTON, November 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A new poll released Wednesday, November 5, found that a majority of Americans does not support U.S. President George W. Bush's argument that invading Iraq is a "central part" of the alleged war on terrorism as attacks against U.S. occupation forces in Iraq continue unabated.

Six in seven Americans disagree with Bush's assertion that the conflict in Iraq is the most important fight in the terrorism combat, said the Washington Post-ABC News poll.

However, the poll revealed that just 14% think that the invasion of Iraq is the "most important" part of the so-called war on terrorism supporting Bush's point of view, the Post reported.

But the doubt of the majority of Americans- shared by some experts in military strategy - poses a potential problem for Bush, because it indicates that a large majority of Americans disagrees with his main argument for justifying the continuing occupation of Iraq, which has proven costlier and bloodier than was generally predicted before the invasion, the U.S. daily added.

Experts in public opinion believe the results may explain why support for Bush's policies on Iraq has sagged.

"These are very important changing perceptions," said Andrew Kohut, who directs the nonpartisan Pew Research Center polls.

Andrew said the results are "potentially threatening to support for the war, because it's no longer being seen as something we did to protect ourselves".

Trying to make the case for invading and occupying Iraq, Bush addressed his nation on September 7 describing Iraq as "the central front" in the so-called war on terrorism.

"We will fight this war against terror until it is won. We are fighting on many fronts, … Iraq is now the central front," Bush said recently in one typical speech.

A former poll in April 2003, however, showed that 77% of Americans believed the war in Iraq was part of the alleged American war against terrorism, but this number felled to 66% in September 2003 and to 61% last week, when the latest poll was conducted.

Declining support for the situation on Iraq was also witnessed as the Americans former 75% approval in April 2003 felled to 50% in September 2003 and then dropped to 47%.

Public skepticism about the importance of the Iraq invasion to national security, the Post said, was not the only blow Bush received as he heard similar doubts from some lawmakers in his own party.

Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) criticized on Tuesday, November 4, the administration's thinking about Iraq as "one of the most misguided assumptions in the history of United States strategic thinking" and said the occupation could increase the threats to American security.

A number of defense experts also reject the president's notion of the role of Iraq in the campaign against "terrorism".

"I think the 'central front' idea is just crazy," said Michael Vickers, a former CIA officer who is now an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

On September 11, 2001, Vickers said, "we weren't hit from Iraq". He also said that while he thinks "we have to prevail in Iraq . . . I can imagine winning the global war on terrorism without winning Iraq, just like you could win the Cold War without winning in Vietnam".

In the meanwhile, U.S. and British occupation forces came under fresh attacks, as anti-American sentiments are rising among Iraqi civilians seeking a return to security in the war-ravaged country and an end to occupation.

An American soldier died when his vehicle hits an explosive device in Baghdad on Tuesday, a few hours after the British Ministry of Defense announced that a Royal Marine was killed in hostile fire on October 31.

Loud explosions near the U.S. military headquarters in Baghdad shook the city mid-evening local time, with the reverberations felt by reporters on the opposite bank of the Tigris river, the BBC NewsOnline reported.

The U.S. military said the blasts caused no damage or injuries inside the compound.

The attacks were blamed on remnants of the former regime, but frustrations are spreading among Iraqis due to U.S. military provocations.

An Iraqi farmer was "accidentally" shot dead by U.S. soldiers who were combing farms in Mokdadiyah near Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad, a relative said Wednesday.

"U.S. forces were shooting indiscriminately while combing farms on Tuesday night. As a result, my nephew Laith Ali Tomeh was killed near his farm," Jawad Hassan Yaakub told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

An office of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) in western Baghdad was also attacked last night, eyewitnesses said.

The blast, caused by an RPG raid by unknown gunmen, has completely destroyed the Shiite party's office at Al-Mansour District and damaged a number of surrounding houses, eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net.

They said that none of the party members were at the office at the time of the explosion.