Gallup finds that 60 percent of Americans support our attacks on ISIS. And a majority from both parties approve:
Aaron Blake is underwhelmed by these numbers. He observes that “the actions in Iraq and Syria have a lower initial level of support than almost every major U.S. military operation over the past three decades”:
60 percent is far less than the early levels of support for the wars in Iraq last decade (76 percent), Afghanistan in 2001 (90 percent), and the first Gulf War in the early 1990s (79 percent). It’s also less support than existed for smaller missions in Somalia in 1993, Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998 and Libya in 1986.
The only efforts which Iraq and Syria beat in initial popularity are the 2011 intervention in Libya, Kosovo in 1999, and Grenada in 1983. Given the negative coverage of the invasion in Grenada and the aforementioned war-weary American public in 2011, it’s not surprising to see Iraq and Syria outrank those too. Kosovo also ranked as a not-particularly-popular intervention.
Larison expects support to drop off:
The fact that only 39% favored military action a few months ago suggests that much of the current level of support for the war is ephemeral and won’t last as the war continues for months and years. That is especially true if the war is perceived as “not working,” and that perception is likely to grow thanks to the unrealistic stated goal of the war. As the Gallup report notes, the 60% figure is relatively lower than polling for most military interventions over the last thirty years, and once the initial “rally round the flag” effect wears off it is probably going to drop back down to significantly lower levels. The public’s underlying aversion to prolonged conflict is still there, and their opposition to sending ground forces into Iraq or Syria remains. Because there appears to be no effort to get Congress to vote on this anytime soon, and because the war is likely to last for several years, declining public support will become a serious political problem for the administration.
The Dish 