AMERICANS increasingly doubt that their government has done enough to protect them against terrorist attacks and are convinced, despite misgivings, that there will be a war against Iraq, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows. Majorities do not want war without Congressional and allied support first and a clear explanation from President Bush.

　　One year after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, about half of the public said the Bush administration did not have a clear plan to fight terrorism, and nearly as many said they felt somewhat uneasy and not safe from another terrorist attack.

　　A quarter of the public, but a third of those in the Northeast, said they feared an attack in their area. One American in 10 said the administration had made "a lot of progress" in eliminating terrorist threats from nations besides Afghanistan.

　　The survey portrayed a hesitant nation with a sense of inevitability and little of the eager combativeness that surrounded the reaction to the bombing of terrorist targets in Afghanistan last year. A large majority said it expected the American forces to "end up fighting against Iraq."

　　One-fourth said Iraq presented such a grave threat that the United States should act now, while two-thirds said the nation needed to wait for support from its allies. Another big majority said Bush should get Congressional approval before making war.

　　The troubled answers about the campaign against terrorism at home and abroad conveyed a similar fatalistic, slightly cranky mood. A year ago, three-fifths of Americans said the government had done enough to protect them against another terrorist attack; now two-fifths do.

　　Such worries highlighted the importance of U.S. President George W. Bush's speech to the U.N. on Thursday, in which he plans to set forth his reasons for regarding Iraq as an international menace. Sixty-four percent of the 937 adults interviewed by telephone last Monday through Thursday said the Bush administration had not clearly explained its position. Even 57 percent of those who said they thought an attack was needed now expressed that sentiment.