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Carole Mikita ReportingMore than 40 americans were taken out of Beirut by helicopter today as Israel bombarded Beirut for the sixth straight day.
CH53 Super Stallion helicopters took the American evacuees from Beirut to Cyprus. The total number of Americans evacuated now totals about 60.
An estimated 25-thousand Americans now live in Lebanon. The State Department says a cruise ship will arrive in Lebanon tomorrow to evacuate more Americans.
The majority of Americans side with Israel in this conflict, but clearly do not want our government to get involved; that's according to the results of a SurveyUSA News Poll.
BYU's Jerusalem Center for for Near Eastern Studies closed its student program in late 2000 because of violence then. Managers are preparing for students this fall, but they, like everyone else, are watching the situation deteriorate daily.
SurveyUSA questioned 1200 adults about the Middle East. 60% said the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers is an act of war. 25% said it's not.
54% said Israel does have the right to attack Lebanon, 34% said it does not.
69% believe the current conflict will escalate to include other countries in the region. 18% believe it will not.
44% of those questioned say U.S. diplomats should attempt to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and its neighbors. 52% say the United States should stay out of it.
Only 12% of Americans believe the U.S. military should get involved. 84% say we should stay out of it.
And when asked which statement best decribed their feelings, 38% said the world is no more dangerous than usual. 42% believe we are headed for World War III. And 17% say World War III has already begun.
BYU's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies sits on Mount Scopus. Professors and staff are preparing to welcome between 40 and 50 students again this fall for the first time in nearly six years. The students attend classes taught by both Jews and Arabs there and take field trips to study Biblical sites and archaeology.
The West Bank is off-limits because the State Department issued a travel warning a few years ago for Americans to stay away.
Arnold Green: "We've got Bethlehem and Jericho kind of as question marks. We'll assess. The week before the students go there we'll make a security assessment and see if it's possible to include those two important sites."
But, now the Golan Heights area in Northern Israel may be as well.
All students who travel to Israel to study, look forward to peaceful cultural exchanges, but in that SurveyUSA poll, 75% do not believe there will ever be peace in the Middle East.
