The majority of Americans still oppose launching military strikes against Syria, even as the Barack Obama administration is trying hard to secure support from lawmakers, says an ABC News-Washington Post poll.
The majority of Americans still oppose launching military strikes against Syria, even as the Barack Obama administration is trying hard to secure support from lawmakers, says an ABC News-Washington Post poll.
The poll found that 59 percent of Americans are against a missile strike in Syria in light of the US government’s determination that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against its own people, Xinhua reported.
Only 36 percent of Americans support the kind of military action for what the Obama administration is now seeking Congressional authorisation.
The opposition against such military actions in Syria has been observed across the board.
A total of 54 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of political independents say “No” to the US government launching missile strikes against Syrian government, showing deep opposition among every political group.
Americans would express more support for the military actions if Britain and France were to participate, with the support for missile strikes in Syria rising by 10 percentage points to 46 percent.
But the prospect has become less likely after the British parliament voted down a proposal for military intervention in Syria last week.
The US public showed even less support for America and its allies supplying weapons to opposition groups in Syria, with 70 percent opposing such an action and only 27 percent supporting.
The poll was conducted by telephone Aug 28-Sep 1 among 1,012 adults.
The White House is currently trying to win over lawmakers to support military strikes against Syria. Obama on Tuesday met Congressional leaders and Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appeared at a Senate hearing to make the case for military actions.
-IANS
