In general, the drone strikes against terrorists abroad are supported by a majority of Americans but they draw widespread opposition in most other countries surveyed.

In a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 7-10, 56% of Americans said they approved of the U.S. conducting missile strikes from drones “to target extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.” About a quarter (26%) of the public disapproved.

However, as some in Congress press the White House to be more transparent about the drone program — just as senators did during Brennan’s confirmation hearings on Feb. 7 — 31% of those surveyed said they were very concerned about whether the drone strikes were being conducted legally. Among those who disapprove of U.S. drone strikes, the number of those very concerned about their legality was 52%.

Questions about the legality of the drone strikes arose after the 2011 drone killing of Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awaki, a leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an American citizen born and raised in the U.S. The White House has since made public its legal justification for targeting of an American citizen who posed “an imminent threat of violent attack” against the U.S.

Paul, as well as Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, have pressed further, asking about the potential for targeting an American citizen on U.S. soil. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a March 4 letter that such an action would be “hypothetical, unlikely to occur” but might happen in an “extraordinary circumstance” after an attack on the scale of Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

Pew Research has not polled on the question of use of drones against an American target on U.S. soil, either in foreign countries or in the United States. But a Fox News poll conducted Feb. 25-27, found that 50% opposed using drones to kill a suspected terrorist who is a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil while 45% approved. Asked if the president, “on his own,” should be able to authorize such a strike against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, 63% answered no while 32% said he should be able to do so.

The Fox News poll also found that a majority (74%) approved of using drones to kill a suspected terrorist in a foreign country and 60% approved of using drones to kill a suspected terrorist in a foreign country “if the suspect is a U.S. citizen.” And 56% approved of the use of drones to kill a suspected foreign terrorist in this country.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll, conducted Feb. 1-4, 2012, found that 83% of Americans supported the use of the drone strikes overseas, and among those supporters, 79%  also approved their use against American citizens in other countries if they were identified as suspected terrorists.

Aside from the legality issue, the Pew Research survey in February found that 53% said they were very concerned about whether drone strikes put the lives of civilians in danger. Even among those who approve of the program, 42% said they were very concerned the attacks risk lives of innocent civilians.

Among those who disapproved of U.S. drone attacks, nearly eight-in-ten (79%) are very concerned about possible civilian casualties.

Other possible consequences from drone attacks spurred less public concern: 32% were very concerned they could lead to retaliation from extremist groups, and 26% worried they could damage America’s reputation around the world.

The support of the U.S. public for general use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists abroad stands in stark contrast to world opinion. Last spring, the Pew Research Center surveyed publics in 20 countries around the world, including the U.S., and found that in 17 of them, more than half disapproved of the U.S. conducting drone strikes to target extremists in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

The use of the drone strikes was particularly unpopular in majority Muslim nations, but it also faced disapproval in Europe and other regions as well.

Disapproval was strongest in Greece (90%), Egypt (89%), Jordan (85%), Turkey (81%), Spain (76%), Brazil (76%) and Japan (75%).

The only countries in the survey, aside from the U.S., where opposition to the drone campaigns was muted were Britain, where the public was almost evenly divided (44% approve, 47% disapprove) and India, where 32% approved and 21% disapproved, but nearly half (47%) had no opinion.

As President Obama’s counter-terrorism adviser, Brennan has been considered the architect of the administration’s strategy for use of drones.

Last spring, Pew Research surveyed the public in 20 countries around the world and found that in 17 of them, more than half disapproved of the U.S. conducting drone strikes to target extremists in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The policy was particularly unpopular in majority Muslim nations, but it also faced disapproval in Europe and other regions as well.

Disapproval is strongest in Greece (90%), Egypt (89%), Jordan (85%), Turkey (81%), Spain (76%), Brazil (76%) and Japan (75%).

The only countries in the survey, aside from the U.S., where opposition to the drone campaigns was muted were Britain, where the public was almost evenly divided (44% approve, 47% disapprove) and India, where 32% approved and 21% disapproved, but nearly half (47%) had no opinion.

Americans largely supported the drone attacks in the spring survey: 62% approved compared to 28 % who disapproved. While support was especially high among Republicans (74%), most independents (60%) and Democrats (58%) also approved.

In Europe, there was a significant ideological gap on the question. A majority (56%) in Britain who described themselves as being on the political right favored the drone strikes, but just 31% on the left agreed. In France, 49% of those on the right approved of the strikes compared to 26% on the left. Double-digit differences were also found in Italy, the Czech Republican and Germany.

There were even larger gender differences on drone use throughout most of Europe, and also in the U.S. Japan, and Brazil. In the U.S., 74% of men supported the strikes compared to 51% of women. In all, ten of the nations surveyed had double-digit gender gaps on the issue.

Read more: Views of U.S. and Foreign Policy

Those who have followed this story have much more positive opinions about Barack Obama’s handling of the situation than Mitt Romney’s comments on the crisis. Nearly half (45%) approve of Obama’s handling of the recent attacks on U.S. embassies and the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Libya; 36% disapprove of Obama’s handling of this situation.

In contrast, only about a quarter (26%) of those who have tracked news on turmoil in the Middle East approve of Romney’s comments on the situation; nearly half (48%) disapprove.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Sept. 13-16 among 1,001 adults, finds that public interest in the presidential campaign has increased sharply in the past week. Currently, 42% say they are following news about the presidential candidates very closely, up from 31% a week earlier, immediately after the party conventions.

As Americans head to the polls this November, their values and basic beliefs are more polarized along partisan lines than at any point in the past 25 years. Unlike in 1987, when this series of surveys began, the values gap between Republicans and Democrats is now greater than gender, age, race or class divides.

Overall, there has been much more stability than change across the 48 political values measures that the Pew Research Center has tracked since 1987. But the average partisan gap has nearly doubled over this 25-year period — from 10% in 1987 to 18% in the new study.

Nearly all of the increases have occurred during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Looking ahead to the 2012 election, the largest divides between committed supporters of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are over the scope and role of government in the economic realm.

These are among the principal findings of the latest Pew Research Center American Values survey, conducted April 4-15, 2012, among 3,008 adults nationwide. The values project, which began in 1987 and has been updated 14 times since then, tracks a wide range of the public’s fundamental beliefs. These questions do not measure opinions about specific policy or political questions, but rather the underlying values that ultimately shape those opinions.

Read the full report which includes detailed findings on these subjects:

• Understanding the Partisan Divide Over American Values
• Demographics and American Values
• Values about Economic Inequality and Individual Opportunity
• Values about Government and the Social Safety Net
• Values about Business, Wall Street and Labor
• Religious and Social Values
• Values about Foreign Policy and Terrorism
• Values about Immigration and Race
• Trends in Party Affiliation

See also a slideshow summarizing the survey’s key findings and an interactive database containing the full history of the values studies.

A year after the death of its leader, al Qaeda is widely unpopular among Muslim publics. A new poll by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted March 19 to April 13, 2012, finds majorities – and mostly large majorities – expressing negative views of the terrorist group in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey and Lebanon.

Read the full report for more details.

Economic issues continue to be the public’s highest priority as the 2012 State of the Union approaches. Fully 86% say that strengthening the economy should be a top priority for the president and Congress this year, and 82% rate improving the job situation as a top priority.

The annual policy priorities survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Jan. 11-16 among 1,502 adults, finds that the federal budget deficit stands out as the fastest growing policy priority for Americans, largely because of increasing Republican concerns about the issue. Fully 69% rate reducing the budget deficit as a top priority — the most in any of the Pew Research Center’s annual policy priority updates going back to 1994.

Defending against terrorism and strengthening the military are given less priority today than over the course of the past decade. Republicans are placing far less emphasis on terrorism, which was their top priority in every year between 2002 and 2008, while opinions among Democrats and independents have shown far less change.

Read the full report for other major findings in these areas:

• Social Security and Medicare
• The environment
• Money and politics
• Illegal immigration
• Tax fairness
• Concerns about Iran
• The federal deficit
• Military spending