A HARPOON missile is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh on Sept. 15, 2014, during Valiant Shield 2014, an exercise integrating U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps assets. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testified before a Senate panel, saying the nation’s top military leaders have finalized plans to strike the Islamic State inside Syria (Kevin V. Cunningham/U.S. Navy)
SEOUL, South Korea — A new survey says most Americans prefer to use diplomacy to solve conflicts, a reflection of war weariness following the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, which seven in 10 now view as not worth the costs. But Americans still generally support the use of military force when the country is directly threatened, humanitarian disasters occur, or if the mission will be low cost and low risk, according to a Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey released Monday.
The foreign policy survey of 2,108 adults — which was conducted May 6-29 and addressed a broad range of foreign policy issues — provides a snapshot of sentiment at the time.
But much has happened since then: The U.S. is ramping up its military involvement in the Middle East and faces an increasingly defiant Russia. U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq followed President Barack Obama’s announcement last week of a new offensive to dismantle the group.
The Council report noted that public support for a specific military action often increases when the president supports that action. It cited two ABC News/Washington Post polls that found public support for airstrikes on the Islamic State increased from 45 percent in June to 54 percent in August.
The survey also found that more Americans favor increasing or maintaining defense spending rather than cutting it, though there is overwhelming support for the use of diplomacy to resolve disputes, even with hostile nations.
For instance, two in three support the use of additional economic and diplomatic sanctions on Syria, while 70 percent oppose supplying arms and supplies to anti-government forces there. Nearly eight in 10 opposed sending U.S. troops into Syria, though respondents were split on U.S. enforcement of a no-fly zone over the country.
Meanwhile, U.S. attitudes toward Russia have plummeted to their lowest levels since the Cold War in the wake of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in the spring and subsequent incursions into Ukraine. However, only 38 percent believe Russia’s territorial ambitions pose a critical threat to vital U.S. interests, and just three in 10 believe American forces should come to Ukraine’s defense if Russia were to invade the country.
The survey found growing support for the U.S. diplomatic and military pivot to Asia, though 55 percent of Americans believe Europe is more important to the U.S. than Asia is.
Americans view North Korea more unfavorably than any country in the world, but generally oppose taking military action against the communist regime.
Americans gave North Korea an average 23 out of 100 on a favorability scale measuring U.S. attitudes toward other countries, ranking it below Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia and the Palestinian Authority. Canada, which received a 79, was viewed most favorably, followed by Great Britain and allies Germany and Japan.
The survey found 55 percent opposed air strikes against military and suspected nuclear sites in North Korea to stop Pyongyang from furthering its nuclear weapons program. Only 78 percent supported sending in U.S. ground troops to take control of the country.
Less than half – 47 percent – backed the use of U.S. ground troops if the North were to invade South Korea, where about 28,500 American troops are stationed. Still, the report noted, that was the highest level of support for U.S. defense of the South since the biennial surveys began in 1974.
The survey also found:
A majority of respondents support maintaining military bases in countries where they are or have been located, including South Korea (64 percent), Germany (57 percent), Japan (55 percent), the Philippines (51 percent) and Guantanamo Bay (51 percent). Only 33 percent support leaving U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 for training, anti-insurgency and counterterrorism operations. Forty-one percent favored bringing all troops home by the end of the year, while 26 percent wanted to withdraw them before the end of 2014. Respondents generally opposed spying on allies but favor eavesdropping on countries they view negatively, including China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Russia. Spying on Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom was viewed negatively, but respondents were split on whether the U.S. should listen in on Mexican officials. Americans believe cyberattacks on U.S. computer networks pose the most critical threat to vital U.S. interests, with 69 percent seeing them a critical threat, up from 53 percent in 2010. However, the number of people who view immigration as a critical threat has plummeted from 72 percent in 1994 – putting concern about the issue on par with nuclear proliferation – to 39 percent this year. A majority of Americans — 64 percent — didn’t want to take sides in a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, though 30 percent would prefer siding with Israel, compared with 3 percent who would prefer siding with the Palestinians. Only half of Americans support having U.S. troops take part in an international peacekeeping mission to enforce a hypothetical peace agreement. The margin of error for the survey was +/- 2.5 percent.
