Fully 60 percent of Americans asked about President Obama’s push for limited military action in Syria said no, that’s not a good idea, a CNN poll showed. In addition, Gallup confirmed that 51 percent of Americans are against the idea of strikes against Syria.
A new survey from CNN/ORC International of 1,022 adults finds that most — 6 in 10 — aren’t in favor of even the most limited of military missions in the war-torn nation.
Roughly 7 in 10, meanwhile, said air strikes in Syria wouldn’t bring about any favorable resolution at all for the United States — that America doesn’t have any national interest in Syria and military strikes wouldn’t fulfill any type of domestic goal, CNN reported.
Even if Congress does give the go-ahead to military strikes in Syria, 55 percent of Americans would still disapprove, the survey said. And if Congress doesn’t give approval, that percentage of dissenting Americans rises even further — to 71 percent, the poll found.
Still, the poll found 8 in 10 Americans do believe Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. CNN reported.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 6 through 8, and has a margin of error of plus-minus 3 percent.
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In a separate Gallup poll, Americans who oppose U.S. military action in Syria were mostly likely to say events in Syria were not America’s concern or that the nation does not to be involved in another war.
The figures released Monday show 24 percent of respondents who oppose a strike think events in Syria are “none of our business” and note that it’s another nation’s civil war.
Nineteen percent say the U.S. military is already engaged in too much and needs to stop policing the world, Gallup said.
Other responses show American do not think a strike would do any good (10 percent) or that the government has not released enough solid information (7 percent) about the Aug. 21 attack near Damascus.
Still others said there may be other ways to deal with the situation.
Overall, more Americans are likely to oppose (51 percent) than favor (36 percent) a U.S. military strike to thwart the Syrian regime’s ability to use chemical weapons, Gallup said.
SEE ALSO: Syria attack: High-stakes decisions on Capitol Hill are yes, no and maybe
The most frequently cited arguments among those favoring a strike is that the United States could prevent Syria from using chemical weapons again (26 percent) and that the Syrian government should be punished for killing its own people (25 percent).
President Obama this week is trying to make his case to Congress — and the American people — that Syrian President Bashar Assad crossed a White House-imposed “red line” with the chemical attack.
However, it appears Mr. Obama has his work cut out for him to sway enough lawmakers in Congress, particularly the Republican-controlled House.
Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told CNN on Monday that Mr. Obama should not proceed with a strike if he does not get authorization from Congress.
“I think that would be a horrible mistake,” he said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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