A new poll finds that support for sending U.S. ground troops to fight the Islamic State is at its highest recorded levels.
Forty-one percent of those asked favor deploying ground forces, up 10 points from a year earlier, according to the Associated Press-GfK poll released Monday. The results from the Dec. 3-7 poll show an increase in support that corresponds with polls administered by other organizations.
However, the AP-GfK poll did not clarify whether respondents envision deploying a small group of units for a short period of time or launching an extended “war-like” initiative.
Poll: More Americans than ever – but still less than half – support sending US ground troops to fight IS group: https://t.co/UMQHh1cpBm
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 14, 2015
While support for launching a ground strategy has not gained support from the majority, 56 percent of people believe the U.S. military response to the Islamic State has not gone far enough. That number has increased 10 percent since October’s 46 percent in light of mass shootings in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, Calif., since October.
On Monday, President Obama tried to reassure people that his plan for attacking the terrorist group is working. Obama said “we are hitting ISIL” harder than ever, and announced Defense Secretary Ash Carter would use his pre-holiday trip to visit troops in the Middle East to also rally support among regional allies.
