The civil war in Syria drones on, with neither side seemingly having the ability to do anything significant to change the momentum in their favor. In fact, there are many who doubt that either side can win that war -- and that it will just continue. The United States (who many want to back the rebels) and the Russia (who backs the Syrian government) are trying to get the two sides to negotiate some kind of peace, and stop the fighting. So far, they have had no luck.And as a recent Gallup Poll (done on May 28th and 29th of a random nationwide sample of 1,011 adults -- with a margin of error of 4 points) shows, the American people don't really think the diplomatic efforts will do any good. That is the opinion of 58% of the American people (with only 27% believing diplomacy might work).
Of course that belief prompts the question -- should the United States use military force to attempt to end the conflict? Absolutely not, says nearly seven out of ten Americans (about 68%). Only 24% think using American military force is a viable option.
I have to agree with that. We are still in one war in Afghanistan, and the last thing we need is to get into another war in that part of the world. And making matters worse is the fact that I'm not at all sure we have any friends on either side of that conflict. This is basically a fight between a corrupt and brutal government and a coalition of islamic militants who have been just as brutal. No matter who wins, they are not likely to be an ally of the United States. Remember, we backed and armed the Taliban in their fight against the Soviet Union, only to see them become a host nation for terrorists like al-Queda once they won.
Sending troops into Syria, or using American military power there in any way, is not going to be popular with the American public. In fact, every single group polled was against that. Here is the demographic breakdown (showing the percentage opposed to using military force from the U.S.):
General public...............68%
Democrats...............72%
Independents...............70%
Republicans...............64%
Whites...............70%
Non-whites...............63%
18 to 29...............70%
30 to 49...............66%
50 to 64...............63%
65 & over...............77%
College graduate...............76%
Non-college grad...............65%
