Is America ready for war against ISIS?

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Poll: Americans increasingly favor US military action and sending ground troops against Islamic State.

More Americans support a U.S. military campaign against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – with twice as many favoring such an operation than not. This, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

Sixty-three percent of the U.S. public now approves of a military campaign against the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS. Some 30 percent disapproves of war, the Feb. 24 poll said. Last October, 57 percent approved while 33 percent disapproved.

However, “the possibility of sending U.S. ground troops to the region is more divisive, although the idea draws more support than it did four months ago,” the poll found.

Forty-seven percent favor that idea while 49 percent oppose sending in ground troops. Last October, 39 percent supported sending in troops while 55 percent opposed such action.

According to Fierce Homeland Security, Americans still appear ambivalent towards taking action against the Islamic State. Forty-nine percent say U.S. military action won’t go far enough, while 46 percent fear it’ll go too far. The poll suggests that attitudes that have changed only modestly since last October.

Register to iHLS Israel Homeland Security

The Islamic State has garnered significant attention over the past year. It has conquered wide swaths of Iraq and Syria, killed thousands of people, including several Westerners, and declared that it has established a caliphate.

The group has also attracted thousands of foreign fighters from around the world. Authorities in Europe and the US are concerned that these Western fighters will return to their own countries and launch terrorist attacks.

Last August, a U.S.-led military coalition started launching limited airstrikes in Iraq against the terrorist group, and recently in Syria as well.

Earlier this year, a Brookings Institute survey found that about 70 percent of Americans thought the Islamic State was the biggest threat to the U.S. in the Middle East.

Pew, which surveyed 1,502 adults between Feb. 18-22, also found shifting public attitudes in terms of dealing with global terrorism.

Forty-seven percent said that “overwhelming military force is the best way to defeat terrorism,” while 46 percent cautioned against using too much military force because it creates hatred that could lead to more terrorism. A year ago, another Pew survey found that 57 percent said relying on too much military force could lead to increased terrorism, while only 37 percent said “overwhelming” military force is the best approach.

Among partisan attitudes, 74 percent of Republicans favored overwhelming military force, which was a major increase from 57 percent a year ago. However, the attitude of Democrats stayed basically the same with just 30 percent favoring overwhelming force.