Majority of Americans support Syrian strikes: Poll

Washington, April 18 (IANS) A majority of Americans supported the April 13 retaliatory strikes on Syria carried out by the US in coordination with the UK and France, a new poll revealed on Wednesday.

The Politico/Morning Consult poll showed that while 58 per cent of the voters supported the strikes, only 23 per cent opposed them.

Another 19 per cent of the voters surveyed in the three days after the strikes had no opinion.

Republican voters were most supportive of the military action: 77 per cent of the Republicans supported it compared to 49 per cent of the Democrats. Half of independents backed the strikes, versus 26 per cent who opposed.

Despite support for the airstrikes, only 8 per cent of the voters said they were "very confident" that the US and its allies would prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government from using chemical or biological weapons again.

"Democrats and Republicans have drastically different views on whether ongoing scandals played a role in President Trump’s decision to conduct airstrikes in Syria," said Kyle Dropp, co-founder of Morning Consult, a media company.

"Notably, 65 per cent of Democrats say the President’s recent controversies were a major or minor factor in his decision to conduct airstrikes, compared with only 28 per cent of Republicans."

The Politico/Morning Consult poll surveyed 1,995 registered voters from April 14 to Monday.