(CNSNews.com) - Iraq still tops the list, but energy and economics are fast coming center stage when it comes to American concerns about foreign policy.

More than 70 percent of Americans now worry "a lot" about the rise in cost of gas and fuel, according to the latest Confidence in Foreign Policy Index (COFI), released Tuesday by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan think tank, and Foreign Affairs magazine.

"I don't think this is just about economics returning to the forefront of public attention as foreign policy slips to the back burner," said Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs . "It's about the public starting to understand that in a globalized world, you can't necessarily separate the two spheres. So energy policy and Iraq are now both major concerns."

The poll found that six out of 10 Americans (60 percent) say reducing energy dependence would strengthen our nation's security "a great deal" - a jump of 16 percentage points over the past six months.

Only 19 percent give the United States a grade of "A" or "B" in energy independence. Moreover, 44 percent of the public believes that decreasing our dependence on other countries for our supply of energy is something about which our government can do "a lot."

Retired Adm. Bobby Inman, former head of the National Security Agency and deputy director of the CIA, said he is somewhat surprised that energy concerns now top the list of strategies Americans think will most improve America's security.

Energy independence leap-frogged over "improving our intelligence capability" and "controlling immigration," Inman told Cybercast News Service .

"I was struck by the susceptibility to an isolationist strategy that underlies a great deal of (these findings)," Inman said. "But that is contrasted by continued great concern about what other countries think about us, and what we should do."

Inman noted that an equal proportion of Americans (70 percent) said they thought we should talk to nations like Syria about dealing with Iran.

"If you look broadly across the index, there's not much public support for the use of military force on any issue," Inman said. "(Support) for the need for strong intelligence operations and having a good strong military, remain high in the process. But the continued shift to focus on diplomacy, the need to talk to adversaries as well as friends, is found through out the report."

Iraq Still No. 1 Problem

When asked to name the most important problem facing the United States in its dealings with the rest of the world, however, Iraq was still the No. 1 most important issue -- as it has been since the poll began three years ago.

"The grades on Iraq did improve a little bit in this iteration, probably reflecting some sense of efficacy about the surge," said Ruth Wooden, president of Public Agenda.

Of those who were surveyed, 8 percent give the United States an "A" on Iraq, and 23 percent a "B" -- comparable to the approval level in September 2006.

Since the surge, however, pollsters found that fewer people are as pessimistic about the war: 42 percent said that "there is not much our government can do to control the violence in Iraq" -- down from 49 percent in the fall 2007.

Fewer people (44 percent) are as pessimistic about creating a democratic Iraq --down from 51 percent the year before. And fewer (34 percent) are worried "that our actions in the Mideast are aiding the recruitment of terrorists" --down from 39 percent in fall 2007.

Overall attitudes, however, remain negative:

--56 percent said they worry "a lot" that the war is leading to too many casualties, essentially unchanged over the past six months, and in fact, over the past three years.

--47 percent worry "a lot" that the war is requiring so much money and attention that it may be distracting the United States from other threats in the word, also unchanged in the last six months.

The numbers on whether or not to withdraw from Iraq have remained stable: 21 percent say "withdraw immediately," 44 percent say withdraw all troops "over the next 12 months" and 29 percent say "stay in Iraq for as long as it takes to stabilize the nation."

Interestingly, the public is "down" on international trade: 42 percent (up from 34 percent in the fall of 2007) now say other countries benefit more from international trade than the United States, while 41 percent say they are unsure. Just 14 percent say America benefits more.

Inman told Cybercast News Service that he believes those figures are a reflection of how the presidential candidates and the media discuss the issue.

"Clearly the case isn't being made for what trade does for us," Inman said. It's being made for what trade does to us - the damage, the loss of jobs, and things like that. That focus in the debates and in the speeches, clearly is reflected here."

The poll was based on telephone interviews with a national random sample of 1,006 adults over the age of 18 between March 18 and __April 1.



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