IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Poll: 54 Percent Want Congress to Back Obama's Authorization Against ISIS

A majority of Americans support President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization to use force against ISIS, according to an exclusive NBC News/Marist poll.
Image:
FILE - This undated image posted on Aug. 27, 2014 by the Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group, a Syrian opposition group, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows a fighter of the Islamic State group waving their flag from inside a captured government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria. The Islamic State group is test flying, with the help of former Iraqi air force pilots, several fighter jets captured earlier from air bases belonging to the Syrian military, a Syrian activist group said Friday, Oct. 17, 2014. The report by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not be independently confirmed, and U.S. official said they had no reports of Islamic State group militants flying jets in support of their forces on the ground.(AP Photo/ Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group)Uncredited / AP

A majority of Americans support President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization to use force against ISIS, the Islamic State group, according to an exclusive NBC News/Marist poll conducted after Obama sent his authorization to Congress.

But the public is divided when it comes to having confidence in the president’s strategy against ISIS, as well as whether Obama will be remembered more for ending a war – like the Iraq war – or starting a new one.

On Wednesday, the president announced that he was asking Congress to vote to allow the use of U.S. military force against ISIS. His proposed authorization would last for three years and would have no geographical limitations.

It also calls for flexibility for limited ground operations by the U.S. military, but rules out a longstanding ground force.

When told these details, 54 percent of Americans say they want their member of Congress to vote for this authorization. This includes a majority of Democrats (60 percent), Republicans (52 percent) and independents (51 percent).

Just 32 percent of all respondents want their member of Congress to vote against such an authorization.

But confidence in Obama's strategy to combat ISIS is mixed – with 45 percent having a "great deal" or a "good amount" of confidence, versus 48 percent who have little to no confidence.

And Americans are divided over whether President Obama will be remembered more for ending a war (40 percent) or starting a new one (44 percent).

These numbers break along party lines, with 59 percent of Democrats saying Obama will be remembered for ending a war, compared with 62 percent of Republicans who say he'll be remembered for starting a new one.

The NBC/Marist poll also finds that:

  • two-thirds of Americans (66 percent) believe the United States and its allies will be able to defeat ISIS;
  • only 40 percent think Obama’s proposed authorization will receive bipartisan support in Congress;
  • and a plurality of respondents prefer sending a limited number of U.S. forces to combat ISIS (40 percent), versus a large number (26 percent) or no ground forces at all (26 percent).

The NBC/Marist poll was conducted Feb. 11-12 of 603 adults, and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 4.0 percentage points.