…more specifically, 58% say they would favor taking military action against North Korea if economic and diplomatic efforts fail to achieve the United States’ goals..
So much for “American first.”
As tensions between the US, its regional allies and North Korea escalate to levels unseen since the end of the Korea war, more Americans are saying they would support some form of military action against the country as a “last resort” should the US’s “diplomatic efforts” fail to convince the regime to surrender, or at least arrest, its nuclear program, according to a Gallup poll.
“As North Korea continues to launch test missiles and issue provocative threats against the U. S. and its allies in the region, a majority of Americans appear ready to support military action against that country, at least as a last resort. More specifically, 58% say they would favor taking military action against North Korea if economic and diplomatic efforts fail to achieve the United States’ goals. This is significantly higher than the 47% in favor the last time Gallup asked this, in 2003.”
The magnitude of the increase – more than 10 percentage points – represents a significant shift, according to the survey’s author, Lydia Saad. Even after Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon let slip that the US doesn’t have a viable military alternative for North Korea – at least, not one that wouldn’t end with hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in Seoul – the president’s rhetoric (though growing a little tired) appears to have struck a chord with Americans, and particularly his conservative base, who voted for him on a platform of foreign noninterventionism that has been totally abandoned by his administration.
According to Saad, the increase has been almost entirely partisan, with the percentage of Democrats who support war remaining relatively steady at around 40%, while the percentage of Republicans who would support a military intervention rose 23 percentage points to 82%.
“U. S. attitudes about striking North Korea are partisan, as they were in 2003. Eighty-two percent of Republicans in the Sept. 6-10 Gallup poll say they would favor military action if peaceful means fail, compared with 37% of Democrats.
The percentage of Democrats who favor military action has hardly changed since 2003: 37% now vs.
