Another Terror Attack In US? After Paris, Most Americans Are Fearful: Poll

A week after the Paris terrorist attacks that killed at least 130 people and left hundreds more wounded, Americans are more fearful of a terrorist attack in the U.S., according to a new poll from the Washington Post and ABC News. Some 83 percent of respondents believe that in the near future there will be a terrorist attack on American soil resulting in mass casualties.

Some 73 percent of Americans also want the government to respond to the Paris attacks -- which the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, has claimed responsibility for -- with military action such as airstrikes and sending troops, the poll found. Just a week before the attacks, another poll, by Quinnipiac University, found that 73 percent of Americans were fearful of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, according to Politico.

While the poll found a majority of Americans want the U.S. to join in a military action against ISIS, it also found about 69 percent of Americans want the country to take a supporting role in any military action. The poll also revealed more than half of Americans oppose accepting Syrian refugees, at 54 percent.

The poll results come after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to put a halt to a Syrian refugee resettlement program amid increased tensions and fears after the Paris attacks, NBC News reported. The Obama administration had a plan in place to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year.

Opponents said the plan opened up the doors to admit people, without extensive background checks, who might want to commit terrorist acts in the U.S., even though none of the Paris terrorists who have been identified were Syrian refugees. Obama has argued against the critics of his plan, arguing that refugees are the victims of terrorism.

Only about 35 percent of Americans are in favor of how Obama has handled ISIS, according to the Washington Post. Obama’s ratings on terrorism have continued to drop since the beginning of 2015.