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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsForeign policyStarted 11yrs agoActive 3yrs ago

Should the U.S. formally declare war on ISIS?

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) recently proposed declaring war against the Islamic State (ISIS). The declaration would give the President more authority to carry out broader attacks on the militant group without Congressional approval. Opponents argue that the order would give the President too much power by eliminating Congressional oversight. Proponents argue that fighting an organization like ISIS requires an unconventional war plan that requires the President to make quick decisions without Congressional oversight.

Answer Overview

Response rates from 621k America voters.

49%
Yes
51%
No
39%
Yes
35%
No
8%
Yes, but only with full cooperation from the United Nations
8%
No, we should not legitimize ISIS as a sovereign entity
2%
Yes, but only with targeted airstrikes
5%
No, we should stay out of Middle Eastern conflicts
1%
Yes, and send in ground troops
3%
No, not until they attack us on U.S. soil
0%
Yes, ISIS already declared war on us and we must now defend ourselves
0%
No, we can not declare war on ISIS because it is not a country

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 621k America voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 621k America voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @537XT5Qfrom Oklahoma  answered…6yrs6Y

The only war we should fight is the one that uses congressmembers and their families at the front line, instead of letting chicken hawks sends other people's families to die.

 @4YPYNSRfrom New Jersey  answered…6yrs6Y

Islamic countries should lead a global coalition with Saudi Arabia and Iran spearheading under the UN must confront this, with active backing by the global powers... Much like in WWII.

 @56P3T6Hfrom Pennsylvania  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes send in troops city to city . So we can rebuild the modern Muslim communities

 @4YJ3633from Maryland  answered…6yrs6Y

That would be an empty gesture, that further underscores the ridiculousness of the concept of "war" in the modern era. How's that war on drugs going? Did we ever win that war on obesity? Why do we need a "formal" declaration when we got drone strikes and economic warfare?

 @4VPKTM9from Massachusetts  answered…6yrs6Y

This is a bogus question. You can only declare war on a country. Not an idea or belief system. That would be like decaring war on the kkk...

 @5375NQ8from California  answered…6yrs6Y

No, Isis isn't a place. You would have to declare war on a country. Which country is the only one with Isis? How many countries do we declare war on and how can we truly tell who are members of Isis and who aren't?

 @56P6QMDfrom Arizona  answered…6yrs6Y

How can you attack an ideal? You can't declare war on a nomadic pack of terrorists. But when you find their packs...turn them to ash.

 @5383XD2from California  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, but not with the current President. Obama (among many other Democrats) have been enabling them time and time again by refusing to acknowledge any religious connection in spite of the perps explicitly saying so. Whether people accept it or not, ISIS technically is a sovereign entity ever since they formally established their Caliphate in the Middle East with the purpose of world domination.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

▲  1614 replies

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

▲  1012 replies

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Based on 621k responses to this question.

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the U.S. formally declare war on ISIS?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 20, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/755126043

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