Pew is out with a new poll of public opinion on the all new and improved US war in Iraq. Support is increasing and it is strongly bipartisan. After six years of looking for one, Obama has finally found his bipartisan issue.
Bipartisan Support for Obama’s Military Campaign Against ISIS
President Obama’s plan for a military campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria is drawing public support. And, in a rare display of bipartisanship, majorities of both Republicans (64%) and Democrats (60%) approve of the president’s plan.
The new national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Sept. 11-14 among 1,003 adults, finds that overall, 53% approve of Obama’s plan, while 29% disapprove; 19% do not offer an opinion.
However, as many say their greater concern is that the U.S. will go too far in getting involved in the situation in Iraq and Syria as that it will not go far enough in stopping Islamic militants (41% each). That represents a shift in opinion since mid-August, when by 51% to 32%, more said their bigger concern was that the U.S. would get too involved in the situation in Iraq.
Despite bipartisan support for Obama’s military campaign against ISIS, Republicans and Democrats differ in their concerns for U.S. military action: Most Republicans worry it will not go far enough (66%); by contrast, 54% of Democrats say their bigger concern is that it will go too far.
The survey finds that relatively few Americans believe that the military campaign against Islamic militants will make the United States safer from a terrorist attack. Just 18% think it will decrease the chances of a terrorist attack in this country, while nearly twice as many (34%) say it will increase the chances of an attack; 41% say it won’t make much difference.
So, if people don't believe that ISIS represents a direct threat to American safety, what makes them so hot to go to war? One possibility is Obama's promise that there will be no American boots on the ground. Yesterday Gen. Dempsey, chair of the joint chiefs, went before the senate Armed Services Committee and suggested that there is a real possibility that some of the growing number of military "advisers" being sent to Iraq might find it necessary to engage in combat roles. This morning Obama issued a statement assuring the public that such will never actually happen in practice.
Does anybody believe that Gen. Dempsey would have made that statement without clearance from the White House? I don't. This looks like good cop bad cop softening up the public for eventual reality. We are also getting press reports of ISIS supporters and sympathizers being arrested in the US. That should improve the score on the domestic terror threat.