POLL: AMERICANS SUPPORT AIR STRIKES IN IRAQ AND SYRIA

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

Two-thirds of Republicans would support sending ground troops, but 71% of Democrats would oppose risking soldiers on the ground

Photo: Raptors carry out air strikes in Syria; courtesy U.S. Air Force

September 23, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--A new poll by CBS news and the New York Times has found that Americans overwhelmingly support U.S. airstrikes in both Iraq and Syria.

The poll found 71% support airstrikes by the U.S. against ISIS militants in Iraq and 69% support them in Syria.   That includes more than two-thirds of people in the Democratic party and 83 to 84% of Republicans surveyed, as well as two-thirds of Independent voters

Americans surveyed also strongly support sending military advisors to Iraq, though support is less strong for training and providing military equipment to Syrian rebels, with just 48% in support, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans, but only 41 percent of Independents.

One area where clear partisan differences emerged, however, was in the question of whether the U.S. should send ground troops into Iraq or Syria.  The vast majority of Americans – 61 percent—oppose use of ground troops.  But nearly two-thirds of Republicans, 62 percent, say they support the U.S. sending ground troops. By contrast, only 29% of Democrats would risk American troops on the ground in Iraq or Syria, along with 36% of independent voters.

 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.