9/11 anniversary: More Americans feel their country is less safe today

Washington, Sept 11: A poll conducted by the NBC News/Wall Street Journal has found that 47 per cent of Americans today feel that their country is less safe than before the 2001 terror attacks, a Washington Times report said.

[Read: 9/11 anniversary: US faces tougher challenges today]

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The percentage shows that more people are feeling insecure than even after a year of the deadly 9/11 attacks when al-Qaeda targetted the World Trade Centre and Pentagon by turning passenger jets into missiles. Then, only 20 per cent of the Americans felt that way. The figure started going up since last year, said the WT report.

The report also hinted at the American citizens' low confidence in President Barack Obama. According to the poll, only 32 per cent is happy with his handling of foreign affairs. The rising fear has made 61 per cent of Americans to support military action against the Islamic State, which has taken control of large territories in Iraq and Syria and declare itself to as Islamic caliphate. Only 13 per cent said they didn't feel that military action against the IS would do any service to the US.

There is also a difference in opinion over the nature of military action. According to the poll, while 40 per cent believed that the US should only make air strikes, 34 per cent is in favour of combat troops joining the air strikes, the WT report added.

The beheading of two American journalists kidnapped in Syria by the IS militants has shaken up the Americans all the more. The poll showed that about 94 per cent of the Americans have heard about the beheading of James Foley and Steven Sotlof, which is more than any other news event in the last five years.