Americans are more concerned than ever about the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).
Recent polls have shown that the majority of Americans are worried about ISIL and that they now widely support airstrikes and providing aid to forces fighting the terror group. President Obama is expected to make a statement on his approach to handle the situation. But in the meantime, Americans are only getting more worried.
A CNN poll Wednesday shows that 62 percent of Americans are very concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world, the largest group since 2007. Sixty-seven percent identify the group as a "major threat" to the United States.
The threat is an even bigger concern than maintaining civil liberties--a large change since 2013's NSA leaks. Half of Americans say they are more concerned that anti-terrorism strategies have not gone far enough, in contrast to July 2013, around the leaks from Edward Snowden, when 47 percent of Americans said that the policies go too far in restricting civil liberties.