POLL: Amid foreign crises, more Americans support U.S. action

After years of retrenchment in the wake of two costly wars, a new USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll finds that Americans increasingly are open to a larger U.S. role in trying to solve problems around the world.

The public remains conflicted over just how much the United States can and should do to address global challenges. But the initial shifts in public opinion could make it easier for President Obama to order more muscular options in striking Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Iraq. If the trend continues, it could help shape the 2016 campaign to succeed him.

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"This runs counter to this conventional wisdom that the public is isolationist," says Bruce Jentleson, a former State Department adviser in the Obama administration who is now a professor at Duke and a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "It's not trigger-happy, but it's also not totally gun-shy."

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In more problematic findings for the White House, the nationwide survey also shows broad dissatisfaction with Obama's handling of crises in Russia, Iraq and the Middle East. A 54% majority, including some of his most reliable supporters, complain the president is "not tough enough" in his approach to foreign policy and national security issues.

The poll of 1,501 adults, taken by landline and cellphone Aug. 20-24, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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