President Obama has failed to convince U.S. voters that the Islamic State, the terrorist group that has claimed control of much of Iraq and Syria, is in fact part of the “JV” team, according to a new CNN survey.
In fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans now view the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as a serious threat and say they support attacking the group with the U.S. military.
The CNN/ORC survey also found that seven in 10 Americans say they believe the Islamic State has the ability to launch an attack on U.S. soil. A majority of survey respondents say they support the U.S. taking a more active role in combating this threat. Seventy-six percent say they support more U.S. airstrikes on the Islamic State, while 62 percent of survey respondents say they approve of the U.S. providing additional aid and support to local anti-terrorist forces in Middle East.
Further, the CNN survey also found that an impressive 83 percent of survey respondents support the U.S. providing aid to those who have fled or managed to avoid Islamic State atrocities.
However, CNN notes: “Even as Americans support military action against ISIS, they still want Obama to seek authority from Congress before taking any action. More than 7 in 10 Americans think Obama should ask Congress for the ability to strike ISIS militarily. And 8 in 10 Americans support Congress approving military force against ISIS.”
Still, even with this popular support for combating the Islamic State with airstrikes and protecting victims from the group’s murderous onslaught, the CNN survey also found that 61 percent of respondents disapprove of the idea of U.S. combat troops being deployed to deal with the growing threat.
“Americans are significantly less reluctant to use military force than they were a year ago, and the number who say that terrorism is the country’s most important problem has quadrupled, making it second only to the economy on the list of top problems in the public’s mind,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
