Reciprocal relationships exist between public opinion and the course of war. Here we investigate what factors lead contemporary Americans to support - or oppose - war. We extend past research by analyzing the effects of a variety of variables related to fear, prejudice, and political orientation on three different measures of support for war: support for a military action against Iran, support for the ongoing Iraq war, and belief that use of nuclear weapons is justified. Results offered support for the role of fear and prejudice in support for war, with fear of terrorism, opposition to interracial marriage, and the belief that certain groups are inherently better than others (Social Dominance Orientation) having the most consistently positive effects on support for war. Additionally, generalized distrust and coolness towards nonwhites were positively related to support for attacking Iran and greater belief that use of nuclear weapons is justified, respectively. All measures of political conservatism - including whether respondents reported watching Fox News - were strongly related to all three measures of support for war. Implications and limitations of the analysis are discussed.