Syria Poll Finds Airstrike Opposition Rising Dramatically (UPDATE)
Source: Huffington Post
WASHINGTON -- The American public's opposition to intervening in Syria has grown rapidly in volume and intensity, new polling finds, with many unpersuaded by President Barack Obama's argument and convinced the U.S. has no good options.
According to a Pew Research/USA Today report released Monday, the percentage of Americans opposing military action rose 15 points in the past week, from 48 percent in a survey ending Sept. 1 to 63 percent in a survey ending Sept 8. In the most recent poll, 45 percent were "strongly opposed," while the percentage favoring airstrikes remained stalled below 30 percent.
Obama, who will make a primetime speech on Tuesday calling for action, faces an increasingly uphill battle to win popular support. Only 35 percent think he's made a clear case for launching airstrikes, virtually unchanged from last week.
While Americans seem largely resolved against military action, they remain deeply conflicted on many of the issues at play in the Syrian conflict. Many see a need to take some kind of action: 54 percent said the U.S. had a moral obligation to stop the violence against civilians, and 60 percent said the U.S. must act to show that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable. But they are unconvinced that American intervention could bring an end to the violence. Most said the situation wasn't a threat to the security or credibility of the U.S., and a full 75 percent -- including a majority of those who favored airstrikes -- thought those strikes were likely to make things worse.
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Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/syria-poll_n_3894628.html
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