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CBS: Majority Of Americans Don't Trust Obama To Defeat Islamic State

Barack Obama
President Barack Obama speaks about Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 15 / AP
November 23, 2015

A new poll released Monday morning by CBS showed a majority of Americans do not trust President Obama to defeat the Islamic State.

Only 23 percent of Americans said they believe the president has a clear plan for how he will "degrade and ultimately destroy" IS. Three times more Americans, 66 percent, said he has no clear plan. Perhaps even more alarming for Obama, more Democrats say he has no strategy than believe he has a blueprint for success.

More Americans support sending ground troops into Syria after the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 that killed over 130 people. Currently half of the country supports sending more Americans to fight the Islamic caliphate, up four percent from this summer.

Only one in five Americans believe airstrikes will do enough to defeat IS compared to 63 percent who believe a ground presence will be necessary.

While Americans' sentiment appears to be moving towards more engagement in the Middle East, opinions on whether to accept Syrian refugees remains divisive. Half of all Americans would outright reject refugees while 47 percent would admit refugees into the U.S. under strict screening measures. A large majority of Americans, 78 percent, believe more rigorous screening measures should be in place.

The House of Representatives passed a bill last week to put a pause in the Syrian refugee program to ensure vetting standards are thorough enough to protect Americans. The measure passed with a veto-proof 289 votes, including 47 Democrats who opposed the president. Obama has promised to veto the legislation that would slow down his plan to let in at least 10,000 refugees this year.