Poll: One-Third of U.S. Fears New Attack

Janay Widdison of Washington, D.C. holding her son Michael, talks about the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2006 in Washington. Fear of another terrorist attack remains real for many Americans.They're nervous about public transportation, take note of suspicious people and think back often to the horrors of Sept. 11, an AP-Ipsos poll found(AP Photo/Nick Wass) (Nick Wass - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Fears of another terrorist attack are intensely personal for those who live in the two cities struck Sept. 11, 2001 _ New York and Washington.

Well over half of New Yorkers and Washingtonians are worried their cities will be attacked again, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Nationwide, a third worry their own communities will be attacked.

Fear of terrorism surfaces in many aspects of life. People are nervous about public transportation, take note of suspicious people and think back often to the horrors of Sept. 11.

Five years after the attacks, the terrorist threat is still evolving. Britain's foiling of what authorities called a multiple hijacking plot in early August was a stark reminder. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who claims to have ordered the Sept. 11 attacks, remains free, probably in the mountains near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. And the only person convicted in the U.S. for the Sept. 11 massacre is Zacarias Moussaoui, a Frenchman who was in jail when it happened.

Such factors contribute to the persistent high anxiety, particularly in New York.

"It's just a constant worry," said Micky Diaz, a medical office manager who lives in the Bronx and works in Manhattan.

"Now you have to worry about the subways, you have to worry about the tunnels, you have to worry about the highways," she said. "It's nerve-racking."

Among the poll's findings:

_Fifty-nine percent nationally approved of President Bush's response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks while less than half in New York and Washington felt that way.

_Thirty-five percent nationally were worried they'd be victims of terrorism, a number that spiked to 43 after the alleged terrorist plot in Britain was announced.

The stress people experienced soon after the attacks fades with time, but it can be renewed by such events as news of terror plots and the anniversary of the attacks, said Anthony Ng, a psychiatrist who has worked with 9/11 victims.

Differences between the city that suffered the worst attack and the rest of the country can be found in the strength of Sept. 11 memories.