According to a new Gallup poll, more than half (51 percent) of American likely voters expressed they were worried about the likelihood of terrorist attacks in the country.
Facing 12 points of increase from 2014 to 2015, the percentage of Americans who worry 'a great deal' about the possibility of a terrorist attack has reached from 39% in 2014 to 51% in 2015, which indicates a rather considerable rise.
The events of the past year have clearly shifted Americans' relative levels of worry about a number of issues facing the country. Terror attacks in Paris and the rise of ISIL have formed the backdrop to a significant increase in concerns about such attacks taking place on American soil. The 12-percent rise comes in meaningful difference with the worries of illegal immigration, which in spite of controversies over Obama Administration's immigration policies has witnessed a 6 percentage of increase. Meanwhile, the fear of crime and violence as well as drug use has increased only 4 percent which is a third of the rise in terror fears.
The results are in line with another survey carried out by national pollster McLaughlin & Associates, indicating that 74.2 percent of likely voters had said they feared terrorists affiliated with ISIL would strike US targets if they weren’t stopped.
Mostly worried about domestic issues on previous polls including hunger and homelessness, unemployment and drug use, Americans’ concerns are now switched to the threats they think they are posed to in future.
The results indicate the US was unable to curb terrorism and to fight against ISIL in the Middle East region. Many Americans now believe the United States has not been doing well handling the threat from terrorism in Iraq and Syria.
The so-called US-led coalition against the ISIL Takfiri group is not doing enough in the face of militants. Since last August, the US and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what they say are ISIL positions in Iraq. Some members of the US-led coalition also started bombarding ‘ISIL targets’ inside Syria in September. The raids have so far failed to dislodge the Takfiri group.
LR/HRGH
MNA
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