More than half of American adults say the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is going well, according to a new poll released Thursday.
Fifty-three percent of respondents to the CBS News poll said they have an optimistic view of how the conflict is being handled. Nine percent said the fight is going “very well,” and 44 percent responded that the fight is going “somewhat well.”
CBS said the results are the most positive response they have been able to get from Americans about the fight against ISIS since the poll began in 2014.
Forty-three percent, however, say the fight against ISIS is not going well. Twenty-five percent of respondents said it is going “somewhat badly,” while 18 percent responded that it is going “very badly.”
BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday that President Trump has authorized Defense Secretary James Mattis to determine the maximum number of troops to be deployed to a conflict, known as the Force Management Level (FML), in Iraq and Syria.
A defense official who supported the authorization said it would give “more flexibility” to U.S. commanders in the fight against ISIS.
Critics, however, argue the move will reduce transparency over how the Trump administration deploys its armed forces.
CBS News surveyed 1,214 U.S. adults over the phone from April 21 to 24 for the poll. The poll has a three percentage point margin of error.
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