67% of Americans Approve of Obama’s Diplomatic Approach to Syria
The media’s coverage of the Obama administration’s decision to pursue a diplomatic solution to the Syria crisis has been overwhelmingly negative, and not just from Fox News. But the latest Pew poll shows the American public is not going along with this narrative: Public Backs Diplomatic Approach in Syria, but Distrusts Syria and Russia.
As U.S. and Russian diplomats reached an agreement over the weekend to dismantle Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles, the public expresses support for a diplomatic approach to the crisis but is skeptical about its effectiveness.
By a 67% to 23% margin, the public approves of Barack Obama’s decision to delay military airstrikes and pursue a diplomatic effort to convince Syria to give up its chemical weapons. However, just 26% think Syria will give up control of its chemical weapons, while 57% think it will not.
More generally, the public has little trust in Syria. Just 8% say the United States can trust Syria a great deal or a fair amount, while 63% say Syria cannot be trusted at all and another 22% say it can’t be trusted much. The public is skeptical of Russia as well: just 24% say the United States can trust Russia even a fair amount, down from 33% last year.