Report · Politics

Americans most back using troops to defend allies under attack

Reading

Given a list of reasons to send in U.S. military troops, most Americans (59%) approve of protecting American allies under attack by foreign nations, according to a January 2024 Verasight survey.

About half (50%) approve of destroying a terrorist camp and 41% of helping the United Nations uphold international law. Fewer support intervening where there is genocide or a civil war (37%), assisting the spread of democracy (23%), or ensuring the supply of oil (19%), and 13% approve of none of these uses.

Topline

select all

Selected responses

Americans most back using troops to defend allies under attack.

Would you approve of the use of U.S. military troops in order to … ?

  • Protect American allies under attack by foreign nations 58.9%
  • Destroy a terrorist camp 49.6%
  • Help the United Nations uphold international law 40.7%
  • Intervene in a region where there is genocide or a civil war 37.0%
  • Assist the spread of democracy 23.2%
  • Ensure the supply of oil 19.2%
  • None of the above 13.1%

2024 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.5%

Verasight Interdisciplinary Omnibus Survey #2024-006

Source report pending

Methodology

Source report pending
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2024-01-18 → 2024-01-24
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.5%
Module
Verasight Interdisciplinary Omnibus Survey #2024-006

Source

  • 01
    Source report pending

Citation

Verasight Interdisciplinary Omnibus Survey #2024-006, fielded January 18-24, 2024, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.5%.

Source report pending

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.