EDITORAL - Americans Favor Military Action on ISIS?

"Why do Americans favor military action in Middle East again?  Question of the Week" Editorial, Pasadena Star-News 9/22/2014

Americans’ attitudes about military action in the Middle East seem to have changed — again.

Polls show a majority support President Obama’s plan for air strikes to combat the Islamic State, the Sunni jihadist group whose human-rights abuses in Iraq and Syria include the purported videotaped beheadings of two U.S. journalists and a British aid worker.

The support for an anti-terrorist military effort isn’t as widespread as it was following the al-Qaida attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001.  But it marks a reversal from recent years, when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan produced wariness about further military entanglements in that part of the world.  Last fall, polls found strong opposition to air strikes in Syria, where leaders used chemical weapons against the country’s own citizens.

Why do Americans favor military action in the Middle East again? That’s our Question of the Week for readers.

This month, a CNN poll found 76 percent favor additional air strikes against the Islamic State and 62 percent favor providing military aid to foreign forces fighting the extremists.  A Washington Post/ABC poll showed support for air strikes against insurgents in Iraq rising to 71 percent.  In an MSNBC.com online poll, 52 percent said, “Do what it takes” to defeat the group.

Majorities do seem to make a distinction between air strikes and “boots on the ground,” cautioning against deploying ground forces.

Is this the explanation for the mood shift — that Americans have been convinced that military action can be confined to bombing, and that this strategy will be effective?  Or is it that the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) is seen as a global terrorist threat rather than merely a regional player?  Is all of this a reminder of the power of video to frighten people?

Is the new attitude on the part of many Americans, not to mention the once anti-war president, justified by the danger the Islamic State presents?

Send your thoughts to opinion@langnews.com.  Please include your full name and city or community of residence.  Also, provide a daytime phone number.

Or, if you prefer, share your views in the comments section that accompanies this article online.  We’ll publish as many responses as possible Sept. 30.