Local Editor

In a clear message to US President Barak Obama's administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday that most Americans do not want the United States to intervene in Syria's war even if the government there uses chemical weapons.

Only 10% of those surveyed in the online poll said the United States should become involved in the fighting. Sixty-one percent opposed getting involved.

The figure favoring intervention rose to 27% when respondents were asked what the United States should do if President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons. Forty-four percent would be opposed.

"Particularly given Afghanistan and the 10th anniversary of Iraq, there is just not an appetite for intervention," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

Many Americans are still oblivious to events in Syria. The poll found that about one-third, or 36%, had neither heard nor read anything about the civil war there.
Only 8% said they had heard or read a great deal and 19% said they had heard or read a "fair amount."

The online poll of 519 Americans aged 18 and over was conducted from April 26-May 1. The survey has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org