Ljubljana, Slovenia ? When NATO took in its first former communist countries back in 1999, Franco Juri was sorry Slovenia had been left out. Now, with the United States at war without U.N. approval, the political cartoonist plans to vote no to joining NATO in a referendum today.

Polls indicate Juri is not alone — Slovenes are divided on NATO but overwhelmingly support European Union membership, the second issue in the vote.

“The last NATO enlargement was important as a symbolic and historic step toward the destruction of old ideological and political barriers,” said Juri, a former deputy foreign minister. “But since then, the Bush administration has been carrying out a revolution in international law. Iraq is a precedent.”

A poll on NATO membership from February indicated 37 percent of voters support joining the NATO alliance, while 36 percent were opposed and 27 percent were undecided. The Ljubljana University poll questioned 1,000 Slovenes by phone and had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

A more recent poll, conducted March 13, showed support of 48 percent, 28 percent against and 23 percent undecided, possibly reflecting fears of renewed unrest sparked by the assassination of the prime minister of nearby Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, the day before.

“The assassination of Djindjic in Belgrade really shocked people and confronted them with reality,” said Jelko Kacin, chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy and a former defense minister.

EU membership is more popular: Seventy-one percent support joining the 15-nation bloc, the March 13 poll showed, while only 10 percent were opposed.

Slovenes expect EU membership to bring more economic growth to their country, which has made strides since gaining independence from then-Yugoslavia 12 years ago. It is the only former Yugoslav republic invited to join the union.

NATO last November invited Slovenia and six other former communist countries to join the alliance, likely in 2004. Slovenia is the only one of the seven to have a referendum on NATO membership.

Authorities have tried to separate the U.S.-led war from joining the alliance. Most Slovenes oppose the war, and many view the war as closely linked to NATO, even though the alliance is playing no part.

Yet many voters fear NATO membership would militarize their peaceful state and force them to support such conflicts in the future.

The government argues that membership in NATO and the EU is crucial if the tiny country is to have a say in international politics.

Kacin, the former defense minister, said only NATO could protect Slovenia, which is about the size of New Jersey, from possible renewed instability in the region.

“When you have a defensive wall, it’s very important on which side you are — inside or outside,” he said. “It would be much better to be in, and not be in a gray zone between NATO states and the unpredictable and unstable Balkans.”

An anti-NATO poster in Ljubljana shows President Bush — wearing a cowboy hat and holding a pistol — saying “I want to have you in NATO, Slovaks,” a reference to the time during his 2000 election campaign when he confused Slovenia and Slovakia. The poster then asks: “But would you like to have such a person for your ally?”

Juri said he was convinced that in the end, however, a majority would vote yes to NATO.

“Many people prefer to be with the strongest,” Juri said. “It’s human nature, and it’s the main argument in favor of NATO.”