U.S President Barack Obama makes a statement on recent U.S. and allied airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria from the White House South Lawn September 23, 2014 in Washington, DC. During his remarks, Obama said "We're going to do what is necessary to take the fight to this terrorist group. UPI/ Win McNamee/Pool | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- According to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll, 72 percent of Americans think the United States will send combat troops to fight ISIS. President Obama admitted during an interview that will appear on "60 Minutes" on Sunday night that he "underestimated" ISIS and that he expected Iraqi troops to be more willing to help fight ISIS. The recent beheadings of American journalists and a British aid worker have caused the American public to be more supportive of military operations against ISIS, and the new poll shows 45 percent of Americans support sending combat troops if military officers decide to do so. Only 37 percent of those questioned in the poll were decidedly against sending troops.

The U.S. started air strikes against ISIS on Monday. Some journalists, including Hassan Hassan of The Guardian, believe the air strikes embolden ISIS and makes it appear the U.S. now supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United Nations claims al-Assad has killed as many as 200,000 of his own citizens in attempts to silence dissenters. He has also killed over 1,400 of his own citizens with chemical weapons attacks.


President Obama has not expressed any plans for sending combat troops to fight ISIS, but many Americans now expect it will happen. "The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission," the president said on September 17.