WASHINGTON — By 50 to 42 percent, most Americans say the United States should not take broad military action against the Syrian government for its alleged use of chemical weapons, according to an NBC News poll released Friday.
The public is more open to President Barack Obama’s proposed limited airstrikes to undermine Syria’s chemical weapons capability, but nearly eight in 10 believe he should be required to win congressional approval first.
Obama’s position on foreign policy is weaker than ever, with record low approval for his handling of foreign policy (41 percent). By 44 percent 35 percent, more disapprove than approve of his performance on Syria in particular.
The poll marks the first major gauge of Americans’ position on Syria since a suspected mass chemical weapons attack against civilians. The poll was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday night.
The survey findings mark a break from the public’s overwhelming opposition to military action in surveys over the past year and reflects the importance of chemical weapons as a deciding factor. Despite the general opposition to involvement, 50 percent support using military force if it were limited to missiles from U.S. naval ships aimed at military and infrastructure used to carry out chemical weapons attacks, while 44 percent oppose this move. This specific question was asked only on Thursday night and carries a higher margin of sampling error.
A December 2012 Washington Post-ABC News poll found that while more than seven in 10 opposed U.S. military action in Syria, more than six in 10 supported it were the Syrian government to use chemical weapons against its people.
If the U.S. does take military action, 56 percent say the most important objective is to stop Syria from using chemical weapons. Far fewer say the focus should be on removing President Bashar Assad (16 percent) or stopping the fighting between government and rebel forces (15 percent).
