61 percent of Americans think fighting ISIS is 'in our national interest'


With President Obama scheduled to lay out his plan for combating ISIS Wednesday night, a new poll finds that 61 percent of Americans think some form of military action against the militant group in Iraq and Syria is "in our national interest." Meanwhile, only 13 percent say it is not in the national interest, while 24 percent have no opinion, per the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey.
That said, Americans aren't necessarily thirsting for a sprawling war. (The Washington Post's Greg Sargent has an insightful look at that point here.)
A 40 percent plurality say the U.S. should stick only to airstrikes, while two-thirds favor airstrikes and combat forces, per the poll. The U.S. has already launched at least 138 airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. President Obama is reportedly considering whether to expand the bombing campaign into Syria, though he has said he opposes sending ground troops to the region.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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